School inspections row erupts

A teaching union has clashed with the education watchdog over the value of school inspections.

Teaching union clashed with education watchdog over the value of school inspections Teaching union clashed with education watchdog over the value of school inspections

It came after Ofsted released the findings of an independent survey of teachers which found overwhelming support for the inspection process.

The NASUWT responded by saying the inspections placed unbearable pressure on teachers.

Ofsted's survey of 1,330 teachers - 643 from primary schools and 687 from secondary schools - was carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research.

Almost 90% of teachers who took part said Ofsted inspections helped their schools set new priorities for the future. In addition, 84% of teachers questioned believed it was important that their lessons were observed by inspectors. The survey also found that 85% of teachers agreed that inspection led to improvements in teaching and learning.

Ofsted said teachers were overwhelmingly in favour of pupils being consulted as part of the inspection and being informed about its findings.

Christine Gilbert, the Chief Inspector of Schools, said: "I am pleased with this level of support from teachers, following the recent finding that more than nine in 10 parents support inspection. Few organisations could hope for such support for their work. However, we know we must continue to improve. The new school inspection arrangements we are introducing from September 2009 will enable us to make even more of a difference."

It follows an earlier, separate, Ipsos MORI survey for Ofsted which found that more than 90% of parents supported school inspections.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: "The devil is always in the detail of these surveys. The survey states that 84% of teachers think it is important that their lessons are observed by inspectors. That does not mean they like inspection, it means that they expect to be held accountable. Ofsted is clutching at straws in seeking to claim otherwise.

"What we do know is that inspections place unbearable pressure on teachers and that recent changes to the inspection regime have increased the culture of fear and simply transferred unacceptable scrutiny of teachers' work from external inspectors to school leaders."

Comments Unavailable

Sorry, we are unable to accept comments about this article at the moment. However, you will find some great articles which you can comment on right now in our Comment section.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?