The leader of one of England's largest school leadership unions has delivered a direct and angry warning to Ofsted, the government and the judiciary telling them they are on notice for the harm being caused to headteachers by the current inspection system. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, used his speech at the union's annual conference in Belfast on Friday to put the education establishment on notice in the clearest terms he has used to date.
As reported by the Guardian, Whiteman told delegates that Ofsted does not raise standards and does not serve children. He pushed back against the suggestion that anyone calling for a different approach to inspection is trying to lower educational standards. He said inspection should not be about pressurising dedicated professionals to the point of destruction and that the risks of further harm and possibly further tragedy were entirely foreseeable and entirely avoidable.
