ATL

ATL comment on changes to Ofsted inspections

30 May 2012

Nansi Ellis, head of education policy at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:

"It is all very well for Ofsted to say it is going to focus on helping schools and colleges improve their teaching, but teachers will want to be reassured that every Ofsted inspector has this message and the knowledge and skill to carry it out. Ofsted is already discredited in the eyes of many teachers and needs to even work harder to regain their trust.

"While giving schools virtually no notice of an inspection may make parents think that inspectors are seeing what really goes on in schools, the reality is that it means teachers, heads and support staff are in a state of constant anxiety, measuring and recording everything in case inspectors turn up, which distracts them from developing creative, innovative and exciting lessons for their pupils.

"Ofsted should not meddle in teachers' pay, this is outside its remit and it already has more than enough to do inspecting teaching and helping schools and colleges improve."

Notes to editors

1. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is an independent, registered trade union and professional association, representing approximately 160,000 teachers, headteachers, lecturers and support staff in maintained and independent nurseries, schools, sixth form, tertiary and further education colleges in the United Kingdom.

2. ATL exists to help members, as their careers develop, through first rate research, advice, information and legal advice.

3. ATL is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) and Education International (EI). ATL is not affiliated to any political party and seeks to work constructively with all the main political parties.