What a disturbing account of disgraceful Ofsted inspections in your report (Outstanding primaries fail their Ofsted under new rules, 4 February). The Office for Standards in Education could have been valuable if it had treated teachers respectfully as fellow professionals to be inspected cordially, challenged where necessary, and guided and supported when appropriate. But instead, throughout its 28 years of existence, it has engendered fear in those inspected, and, where it found fault, conveyed its criticisms to public and parents in a way which could undermine confidence in the school and its head.
The government should abolish Ofsted and recognise that local authority inspectors/advisers, aware of the impact of local factors on school performance, are all that is required. The government should realise how professionally committed teachers are to the children they teach and how hard they work. Standards rise because young people choose to study hard, are taught well by their teachers, are encouraged by their parents, and influenced by a positive climate towards schoolwork by their peer group of classmates. Advisory inspection may help: punitive inspection doesn’t.
Emeritus Professor Michael Bassey
Coddington, Nottinghamshire
• I am a 71-year-old qualified accountant with many years’ experience in a variety of sectors, and I would like to reassure the 10-year-old child who did not know the difference between a business and an enterprise that he/she is not alone. Even having looked up the answer on the ubiquitous internet, I am still not really any wiser. Quite why Ofsted inspectors think this is relevant knowledge for someone of that (or any) age, I have no idea. But I do know how to make marmalade and would be very happy to teach them.
Sarah Hale
Highgate, London
• The eight-year old Halifax boy who told a schools’ inspector that the dragon was a Viking invention wasn’t far wrong. Dragons permeate Norse myth, design and archaeology, as many from Yorkshire would know. Ofsted requires improvement.
Sara Davidson
Didcot, Oxfordshire
• When I was an Ofsted inspector, it was considered an essential skill to know how to interview children and how to interpret their answers. Sadly, that doesn’t appear to apply to the bizarre judgments being made by current practitioners. Erroneous judgments have huge implications. Even less forgivable is creating distress in children.
Linda Rhead
Hampton, London
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