13 February 2004
A leading teaching union has hit out at radical plans to overhaul school inspections and reduce the notice period to 48 hours as a 'move too far'.
John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, told Public Finance that Ofsted's proposal to limit the notice period was a 'very foolish reduction'.
'It would leave teachers in a condensed state of panic and destroy their equilibrium,' he said. 'Given the high-stakes nature of school inspection, such an approach is unreasonable.'
Bangs added that the union wanted greater emphasis to be given to self-evaluation by schools, a system that he said was already working well in Scotland.
In addition to shortening inspection notice periods, the consultation paper, released by Ofsted on February 10, suggests replacing the current six-yearly inspection round with shorter, 'sharper', inspections every three years that will focus on core areas of learning.
Chief inspector of schools David Bell said the proposed regime would give parents a comprehensive 'warts and all' picture of school performance and help schools to regard inspection as a regular part of their business rather than a 'long-anticipated trauma'.
'Ofsted is neither going soft nor tightening the screw on schools,' he said. 'We are exchanging the searchlight for the laser.'
Bell said the new regime should also result in a cash saving of approximately £10m on an annual inspection budget of £70m as it would involve fewer inspectors but use them more frequently.
Head teachers gave the proposals a cautious welcome. David Hart, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, said his union supported moves to slash bureaucracy but pointed to unhappiness regarding the new inspection criteria introduced last September.
'If [Bell] does not deal with other fundamental concerns regarding the new Ofsted framework, including the demand for higher and higher standards and the poor quality of too many of the inspection teams, heads will say that this is a job only half done,' Hart said.
The consultation period closes in April and, assuming necessary legislation is passed in the next parliamentary session, Ofsted believes the new inspection regime could be introduced by autumn 2005.
PFfeb2004
