Thursday 9 January 2020

i letter on Ofsted

As disingenuous as ever, Ofsted has "pinpointed 415 stuck schools", typically in "deprived areas" or "with a neighbouring big city" (Ofsted picks out 415 "stuck" schools, 08/01.20). Unbelievably, Ofsted blames the fact that these schools are "continually changing" and are "unable to recruit and retain good teachers"! After all these years, you would have hoped by now that the national inspection regulator would have a clue!
    How can Ofsted possibly ignore its own role in driving away teachers from an overworked, underpaid and over-inspected profession? Even when schools in underprivileged areas do well in terms of pupil progress, their achievements are not recognised, but instead the schools are given negative grades, because their examination results do not match those of schools in middle class, affluent areas.Teachers unsurprisingly are driven away, and recruitment problems mean schools in challenging areas with deprived intakes often lack subject expertise, as well as the funds to spend on improving academic and discipline standards.
  Instead of the constant criticism, teachers who are now working harder than ever, deserve praise from inspectors. Is it any wonder that one of the most popular of the Labour party`s manifesto proposals last month was to get rid of Ofsted?

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