Ofsted 'is out of touch'

MORE than four out of five teachers in England believe a new system of inspection should be introduced as Ofsted has “many problems”, a survey suggests.

The majority of teachers (90%) said they did not believe single-word judgments were a fair reflection of school performance.

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.

The findings were released on the first day of the NEU’s annual conference in Bournemouth.

Teachers will vote on whether the NEU, the largest teaching union in the UK, should lobby political parties ahead of the next general election to endorse its campaign to “replace Ofsted”.