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Press Release

Ofsted's annual report - NUT response

23 November 2010

Commenting on the report Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers' union said:

"Our classroom teachers do an amazing job day in day out in often challenging circumstances. As Ofsted says itself, when you look beyond the sensationalist spin on the quality of teaching on our schools, 'inadequate teaching' is the exception rather than the rule.'

"If there is anything that is "dull and uninspiring" in our schools it is a curriculum that is narrowed by the series of hoops that schools have to jump through in order to satisfy arbitrary targets which can change with alarming regularity. This often results in a narrowing of the curriculum and teaching to the test, simply because schools are fearful of slipping down in the school league tables.

"Over two thirds of maintained schools were judged as 'good' or better yet under half of the academies inspected reached this level. Surely this must end the myth that academy status equates with excellence.

"It will be no comfort to the majority of children's centres which Ofsted say are providing such an outstanding level of child care provision when they know that the government wants to remove qualified teacher status requirement from them. It is this very requirement which has contributed greatly to their success".



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National Union of Teachers

National Union of Teachers

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