Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, responds to Ofsted Chief Inspector Sir Martyn Oliver’s speech to the ASCL Annual Conference in Liverpool.
“No school leader has low expectations of their pupils. On the contrary, they are on the frontline of education doing their absolute best for every child in their care.
“In schools serving disadvantaged communities these children often face extremely difficult circumstances in their lives which can have an impact on outcomes.
“Ofsted does need to recognise this reality or otherwise its inspection regime effectively penalises these schools.
“This impacts on the morale of school leaders and the wider school community. It makes recruitment more difficult and therefore improving outcomes all the harder.
“Closing the disadvantage gap in attainment requires more investment in these schools and in the wider services which support these communities.”