Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, responds to the Department for Education press release on Ofsted data showing 89% of schools are rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.
“The fact that 89% of schools are judged by inspectors to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ is testament to the incredible hard work – and sleepless nights – of the education workforce. It is even more of an achievement considering the intense financial pressures and staff shortages faced by schools and colleges as a result of the government’s neglect of the education system. It is disappointing that the government’s first instinct is to praise itself for the performance of schools as judged by Ofsted inspections with only a glancing reference to the work of teachers and none at all to leaders. It is the people on the ground who actually deliver education and whose schools and colleges are put through the ordeal of an inspection system that is punitive and counterproductive.”