Suffolk teachers call for reform of Ofsted
A new survey has been carried out by the NEU with many saying it should be scrapped
More than four out of five teachers in England believe a new system of inspection should be introduced because Ofsted has "many problems", a survey suggests.
The majority of teachers (90%) said they do not believe single-word judgments are a fair reflection of the performance of a school.
A poll, of more than 4,500 National Education Union (NEU) teacher members in state schools in England, suggests 62% feel the inspection system causes them mental ill-health and 59% say it affects their home life.
The survey, carried out between February 6 and 20, suggests only 3% of teachers believe Ofsted acts as a "reliable and trusted arbiter of standards" and just 4% believe it acts independently of Government.
More than four in five (82%) agreed with a statement that said Ofsted has so many problems that it "would be better to start afresh with a new system of inspection".
Paul McLaughlin, NEU rep for Suffolk and the East of England, said: "They land unannounced in schools, they make no particular account for the different characteristics of schools, for example the deprivation in some areas, they just make a blanket judgement."
"We believe in accountability; we should measure what we're doing, we should be aware of schools that need improvement for example, so we're not against this idea of accountability, but what we are against is obviously the present system."
He also believes the one word judgements should be scrapped: "The problem is, particularly with the one word judgement system, it narrows a very complicated set of metrics into one simple decision, and their regime is really quite pernicious."
What does Ofsted say?
An Ofsted spokesperson said: "We inspect schools on behalf of children and their parents, but we are very mindful of the pressures on school staff.
"We have already made several changes to inspection over the last year, focused on school leaders' and staff welfare. But we have promised to go further to strengthen confidence in our work.
"That's why we launched our Big Listen last month. We're asking parents, children, heads, teachers and other professionals to help shape the way we work in future and make sure all children have the best possible education and life chances."
What does the Government say?
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Our plan to ensure every child benefits from a world-class education is working with 90% of schools now judged to be good or outstanding, up from 68% in 2010.
"Ofsted is central to driving forward that improvement. Their independent inspections are vital to ensuring children are safe in school, parents are informed, and the department is able to intervene where strictly necessary.
"We have worked closely with Ofsted to ensure inspections are conducted with professionalism and compassion. We are supporting Sir Martyn Oliver's work through the Big Listen, to hear from parents, teachers and education experts to understand where more improvements can be made."