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Press Release

NASWUT comments on latest Ofsted inspection data

16 June 2010

Responding to the release of the latest Ofsted inspection figures, Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers' union, said:

"The statistical data published today on the trends in relation to school inspection judgements tell us more about how Ofsted has changed rather than how the performance of schools has changed.

"Constantly moving the goalposts has made it impossible for firm conclusions to be made about the performance of schools over time. The plain fact is that today's statistics do not compare like with like.

"The Ofsted inspection framework introduced in 2009 not only redefined the English language, but also shifted the goalposts for what would be deemed to be an 'outstanding', 'good', 'satisfactory' or 'inadequate' performance by a school.

"It is, therefore, impossible to draw any meaningful comparisons between the proportion of schools judged today as 'good' or 'outstanding' compared with the position that existed under the previous Ofsted framework.

"Ofsted accepts that disproportionately more of its time is spent inspecting particular categories of schools. The statistics published today are, therefore, heavily biased and do not present a true picture about how well the system as a whole is doing.

"The public should treat these statistics with extreme caution."



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