School workloads
Teachers want less bureaucracy, according to Ofsted.
Most teachers in England think government reforms to cut their administrative workload have not had enough impact, a report by the watchdog said.
It found the workload agreement - giving more tasks to classroom assistants - had increased demands on head teachers.
Meanwhile, most teachers still felt bureaucratic demands were "excessive".
Party Response: Conservative
Tim Collins, shadow education secretary, said: "Charles Clarke is all talk when it comes to tackling bureaucracy. The only way to reduce the tidal wave of 'bumf' that threatens to overwhelm schools is to cut the number of
"A Conservative government will make sweeping reductions in their numbers. Then, and only then, will head teachers and their professional colleagues be allowed to get on with the job they do best – teaching our children."
Stakeholder Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "Although some schools may be experiencing greater challenges in implementing the Agreement, this should not be an excuse for employers to delay implementation. It is just as much of a contractual requirement as key stage testing.
"If head teachers and governors are prepared to, one, take advantage of the many forms of support and guidance available to them through WAMG and the NRT, and, two, commit themselves to workforce reform, there should be no insurmountable obstacles to implementation, and ATL will fully support its members who are, for whatever reason, not receiving their contractual entitlement to a fair work/life balance.
"The overriding objective of the agreement is to raise standards in schools and this will follow from addressing teacher workload, freeing them up to concentrate on teaching."
Stakeholder Response: NASUWT
Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT, said: "This Ofsted report is past its sell-by date.
"It is based on opinions gathered over twelve months ago. Since that time, considerable progress has been made by schools in meeting the contractual changes arising from the national agreement 'Raising standards and tackling workload'.
"It is disappointing that Ofsted has applied a methodology in which the sample of schools included is not statistically valid or representative.
"It is particularly worrying that Ofsted apparently places greater emphasis on the perceptions and opinions of a few head teachers rather than on evidence collected through systematic inspection.
"However, chief inspector David Bell is right to recognise that there is some way to go to ensure that all schools enjoy the benefits of workforce remodelling for their staff and pupils and that progress on implementing the national agreement is central to the standards agenda in our schools.
"Raising educational standards has always been at the heart of the National Agreement.
"It is simply not good enough for Ofsted to continue to dodge its responsibility to support schools in raising educational standards through workforce remodelling.
"If HMCI is serious about this issue, he will have no problem accepting the NASUWT’s proposals to amend the Ofsted framework to ensure inspections support schools in tackling effectively this important agenda."
Stakeholder Response: Professional Association of Teachers
Jean Gemmell, PAT general secretary, said: "We welcome the report's findings that administrative and clerical tasks have been removed from teachers, and that 'there is widespread support' for the aims of the agreement.
"We are pleased by the report's main recommendations about raising standards and taking a systematic approach. We welcome the examples of good practice.
"We are also pleased to see that 'changes to the roles of support staff have been well managed'. As an association that champions the whole education team, PAT believes that both teachers and support staff are crucial to the implementation of the Agreement.
"We are disappointed many head teachers believe their workload has increased, as this shouldn't be the case, and are concerned by the other implementation problems and funding difficulties.
"Any new system will bring challenges to be overcome. The government must address the funding issue, and schools themselves must embrace the cultural change of thinking of the whole school workforce. This agreement is too important to be allowed to fail."
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