NEU comments on Ofsted inspections announcement

Commenting on plans for Ofsted inspections from September, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

"It is widely accepted that education recovery is not a one-term effort, and so we believe that by September, Ofsted inspections will still be an unnecessary pressure on staff who must be allowed to concentrate on this vital work. Worse, inspections would constitute a hindrance, particularly as the intention is to revert to using the Education Inspection Framework. We have long warned that this framework is extremely difficult for primary schools and will force more schools to take their focus away from the needs of the children they teach and towards a rigid view of curriculum. It is all too clear that in its efforts to appear relevant, Ofsted will simply redouble the negative consequences of inspections on teacher and school leader workload."