Commenting on the Shadow Education Secretary, Bridget
Phillipson’s plans for reform, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint
General Secretary of the National Education Union,
said:
“These recommendations to make serious change to inspection will
be welcome news to teachers and leaders across England.
“For decades we have had a system that is punitive, unfair and
unreliable and has led to staff leaving the profession in their
droves. 's proposal to remove the
four headline grades that Ofsted currently awards is a welcome
step towards addressing these issues, bringing us more in line
with countries such as Scotland and Wales. Removing the headline
grades is needed and would go beyond a reductive approach towards
meaningful school evaluation and improvement.
“We agree with Labour that parents and schools ‘deserve better’
from Ofsted. Any reforms to inspection must take seriously the
excessive and intensive workloads teachers face, the costs of the
surveillance model that Ofsted embodies and the effects on
schools of its dogmatic approach to curriculum issues.
It is vital that reforms must reduce the high stakes for
staff, particularly for those staff in high poverty areas who are
most unfairly impacted by the punitive inspection regime. England
needs to move towards a system that is supportive, effective and
fair. Safeguarding and health and safety are vital concerns
and we are pleased to see them foregrounded.
“We hope that 's speech marks the
beginning of a dialogue with teachers and school leaders. Every
intended 'solution' to the problems of inspection needs to
consider carefully the likely effects, positive and negative, of
proposed measures.
“As these ideas are further developed, the NEU look forwards to
considering the detail, noting the Party's commitment to
consulting with the profession. A fairer and more supportive
system is urgent to ensure we stem the loss of teachers and
leaders from schools and colleges.”
