Education Secretary Michael Gove confirmed in July that inspections would be narrowed to focus on just four areas: quality of teaching; effectiveness of leadership; pupils’ behaviour and safety; and pupils’ achievement.
Conservative peer Lord Bates said the proposals would allow teachers to "get away from box-ticking". He said: "We need to trust inspectors more. I hope the new system will give greater independence to inspectors to ask searching, probing questions."
But Sarah Darton, director of programme delivery at charity Family Links, said she feared the changes would mean that pupils’ emotional and social needs get overlooked. She said: "Children’s health is important across the social spectrum. I am very concerned [changes to school inspections mean] we take our foot off the pedal of emotional health."
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
