Teacher strikes

Teachers given strike ‘exemption’ to prepare for Ofsted

Teachers at 'outstanding' school given union blessing to cross picket line after getting Ofsted call

Teachers at 'outstanding' school given union blessing to cross picket line after getting Ofsted call

Exclusive

Thirty teachers were given “exemptions” by their union to cross the picket line yesterday so they could prepare for an Ofsted inspection.

The watchdog said it would not inspect schools on strike days as the full scale of disruption “might not be known until the day of the strike”. 

They also pledged to notify schools the day before strikes if they plan to inspect the day after walkouts.

Heads’ union ASCL had pushed for no inspections at all during strike weeks, but Ofsted said schools can request deferrals as usual. 

Meols Cop High School, in Southport, was told on Tuesday it would be inspected on Thursday and Friday this week. The school was last rated ‘outstanding’ in 2012. 

Jim Dye, senior regional officer at the National Education Union, said its members at the school were “shocked and angry”. 

meol cop picket teacher strike
The Meols Cop picket

The union gave the school’s 32 members a ceremonial “exemption”.

While NEU members can still go into work on strike days if they choose not to walk-out, Dye said the exemption meant staff felt they could go in and prepare for Ofsted “without breaking the strike”.

Dye said “members at the school were solidly behind the dispute for better pay and funding and we are proud that they still demonstrated outside the school in support of NEU early on the morning of the strike.

“We believe that Ofsted’s decision to ignore union calls to reschedule inspections to a different week risks Ofsted being seen as politically motivated and politically directed.”

Ofsted told Schools Week it received a “small number of requests for deferral due to the industrial action, the vast majority of which were granted”. It would not provide figures on how many inspections were carried out on Thursday and Friday. 

Geoff Barton, ASCL’s general secretary, said suspending inspections during the full week of strikes would “allow school leaders breathing space to focus on managing industrial action”.

But Mark Lehain, a former Department for Education special adviser, said “inspections probably shouldn’t have paused at all – if strikes have affected children’s learning, it is important that we know this, and Ofsted are the body best placed to judge this”.

Inspectorates visited Burford School’s boarding house in Oxfordshire on Wednesday as visits under the social care common framework continued.

Matthew Albrighton, headteacher, said Ofsted inspectors had been “nothing but supportive and mindful of the context, making significant dispensations for the events of the week and the demands on the time of senior leaders”. 

Latest education roles from

Executive Director of Finance – Moulton College

Executive Director of Finance – Moulton College

FEA

Director of Governance – HRUC

Director of Governance – HRUC

FEA

Principal and CEO

Principal and CEO

Hills Road Sixth Form College

Senior Quality Officer

Senior Quality Officer

University of Lancashire

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

IncludEd Conference: Get Inclusion Ready

As we all clamber to make sense of the new Ofsted framework, it can be hard to know where...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Helping every learner use AI responsibly

AI didn’t wait to be invited into the classroom. It burst in mid-lesson. Across UK schools, pupils are already...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Retire Early, Live Fully: What Teachers Need to Consider First

Specialist Financial Adviser, William Adams, from Wesleyan Financial Services discusses what teachers should be considering when it comes to...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

AI Safety: From DfE Guidance to Classroom Confidence

Darren Coxon, edtech consultant and AI education specialist, working with The National College, explores the DfE’s expectations for AI...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Teacher strikes

Maternity pay gap sparks strike in London chain

Trust that already offers maternity pay 30% above national levels faces action over 'two-tier' policy claim

Jack Dyson
Teacher strikes

Striking teachers tell trust to extend lunch break instead of lessons

Teachers across 14 Outwood Grange trust schools to strike this week over plans to extend day past 2.30pm

Jack Dyson
Teacher strikes

NASUWT would ballot if DfE rejects higher STRB pay recommendation

Conference also seeks 'immediate' ballot if pay award is not 'fully-funded'

Freddie Whittaker
Teacher strikes

Labour MPs ‘will pay high political price’ over teacher pay, vows Kebede

NEU leader pledges to campaign in MPs' constituencies if teachers don't get an improved and fully-funded pay settlement

Freddie Whittaker

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One comment