Chief Inspector’s report - NUT reaction

19 October 2005

Commenting on the 2005 Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Schools, Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the NUT said:

“I welcome the fact that David Bell recognises the effectiveness of the large majority of schools.  There is much to celebrate.  The Chief Inspector, however, has to be very careful with his use of language. 

“Mediocrity is a word which is as damning as failure.  It is a small jump for those hostile to maintained schools to ascribe failure to the whole system.  Success and improvement are patently the hallmarks of the English education system as the evidence from the Annual Report shows. 

“There is never room for complacency and teachers themselves do not conspire to be complacent.  Building on success should be the message of the Chief Inspector’s report, not mediocrity.”