Guernsey Press

Tension is not always a bad thing

TEACHING unions have a crucial role to play in the transformation of the islands’ school system.

Published

If the move to a single all-ability secondary school over two sites is to have any chance of success, education professionals must be on board.

Making sure the unions feel a valued and consulted part of the process has therefore to be high on Education, Sport and Culture’s agenda. It would be foolish to alienate the very people who will put the new system into action.

That said, the level of anger directed at Education by NASUWT’s general secretary for appointing Ofsted as schools inspector seems disproportionate.

The ‘imposition’ of Ofsted without any direct discussion with the unions is ‘entirely unacceptable’, we are told.

There is history here, and much of it has little to do with Guernsey and a great deal to do with Ofsted and the NASUWT.

Only last year the national union complained that Ofsted was adding to the burden of teachers who are ‘overworked and browbeaten by an unjust inspection system’.

And its long-term general secretary, Chris Keates, has never shied away from taking Ofsted to task for being too negative.

Education, for its part, has set out its stall. It wants ‘an independent and rigorous assessment of school performance to drive further improvement’.

And if there is a tension between the two sides perhaps that is healthy. The relationship between inspectors and the inspected should never be too cosy.

Ofsted must challenge island schools to set high standards, even if sometimes teachers feel uncomfortable under its exacting gaze.

A question that remains to be answered, however, is who will watch the guardians. Ofsted has made it clear that it could not inspect Education’s central command as that was not in its remit.

Yet as the committee transforms the role of its employees and hands over some power to the heads of the schools it is more vital than ever that an independent body assesses how well it is doing.

Now that Education Scotland has withdrawn from the field, a new inspectorate for the education service itself must be found.

Preferably, there should be tension in that relationship too.