Commenting on Ofsted’s press release about remote education,
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said:
“We’re pleased to see Ofsted dispelling common myths about remote
education, particularly the notion that live lessons are a gold
standard. This idea seems to have caught hold in some circles and
has created an expectation that schools should be providing an
endless stream of live lessons.
“However, while live lessons can work very well, they are only
one form of remote education and other approaches can also be
highly effective. Schools have done a great deal of work in
developing their remote education offer over the course of this
crisis and have very high-quality provision in place.
“We note that Ofsted intends to resume monitoring inspections of
struggling schools from 18 January. We support this move as long
as these visits are genuinely supportive and helpful to the
schools concerned.
“However, we are at a loss to understand why these visits need to
happen in person. When the Prime Minister announced the new
national lockdown, he instructed people to stay at home to
control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives. Surely,
in-person Ofsted visits are not the most pressing priority in the
midst of a national crisis, and it would be more sensible to
conduct these remotely while the lockdown restrictions are in
place.”
