Teachers still improving standards despite Ofsted says the NASUWT

19 June 2009

Commenting on the Ofsted report 'English at the crossroads', Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers' union in the UK, said:

"Teachers are extremely sceptical about the value of these reports. Ofsted’s definition of what is ‘good’ changes on an annual basis, making it impossible to compare results over any period of time.

"This report says results are not improving fast enough. What does that actually mean? No matter how much or how quickly results improve, Ofsted will continue to move the goalposts. It's a race teachers can never win.

"One of the biggest single factors which undermine the efforts of teachers to raise standards is the amount of time they have to spend meeting the real or perceived needs of Ofsted rather than being able to prioritise the needs of pupils. Ofsted is part of the problem, not the solution.

"As for results differing between boys and girls, it is too simplistic to base the judgements on gender. There are many other factors involved in educational progress such as social class. It is much more complex than this report suggests.

"Teachers can only work with the curriculum they are given and they do a brilliant job within these constraints.

"The Chief Inspector says this report presents a challenge to schools. The real challenge is still managing to improve standards significantly despite Ofsted’s punitive accountability regime."

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