Commenting on the publication of the Ofsted Annual Report, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said:

“The Ofsted Annual Report is a timely wake-up call to the Coalition Government on the eve of the publication of the education White Paper.

“The Coalition Government’s planned programme of education reforms and cuts to public spending flies in the face of Ofsted’s evidence and will do untold damage to the quality of teaching and learning in schools.

“The Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector confirms that schools are delivering incredible results in the most trying and difficult circumstances.

“Teachers and school leaders are working tirelessly to raise the morale and motivation of young people, whose only future under this Government is unemployment or debt if they go on to higher education.

“High quality early years education is critical to children’s success in later life. However, improvements secured by early years teachers and support staff are being seriously jeopardised as a result of the Coalition Government’s public spending cuts.

“The Coalition Government’s decision to press ahead with the implementation of a flawed funding formula for all early years education provision risks the closure of high quality school-based provision for three and four year olds and penalises those local authorities that have been investing in such provision for years.

“Whilst there will always be areas for improvement, successive Ofsted reports confirm that educational excellence is a key characteristic of provision within the maintained state schools sector.

“In view of the overwhelming evidence from inspections and research, the Coalition Government must be challenged about its ideologically driven policy of academies and free schools.

“The confirmation by Ofsted that successful schools collaborate with other schools and work closely with parents and local communities should send an important message to the Coalition Government that removing provision for community cohesion from the inspection framework will further threaten educational standards.

“On the eve of the publication of the Coalition Government’s education White Paper, it will come as further irritation to ministers that Ofsted’s view is that high quality education for pupils depends on initial teacher education partnerships led by the higher education sector.”