Headteachers will today debate whether the Department for Education deserves to “be placed into special measures”.
A motion at the NAHT school leaders’ union conference, held online for the first time, focuses on the DfE’s response to the Covid-19 crisis. It says that if the department were subject to Ofsted inspections just like schools, it would be judged “inadequate” and failed.
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The motion reads: “This NAHT conference condemns the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crises in relation to schools. The government has demonstrated incompetence on significant occasions and the refusal or inability to listen to the profession or defend it demonstrates a blatant disregard for the hardworking professional working in schools.
“We note that the government’s actions are taken in the name of children and young people, but its failures have been disastrous for them. The list of policy failures is a long one, including a disastrous free school meals voucher scheme, total failure of the testing system and chaos surrounding A levels and GCSEs.
“The NAHT conference considers that if the government was subjected to inspection, the DfE would be placed into special measures immediately.”
The motion continues by calling on the National Executive Committee to:
“1. Continue to offer freely our members’ experience and expertise in the hope that the government will realise it is school leaders and their teams that hold the keys to success.
2. Do all that it can to continually set the record straight when the government and commentators criticise the profession for the failures of others.”
A DfE spokesperson said: “Since the unprecedented closure of schools to most pupils in March, every major decision we have taken has been guided by the best scientific and medical advice and has been accompanied by engagement with stakeholders from the sector.
“Over seven million children have now returned to school, with 99.8 per cent of schools open. This milestone is testament to the work of school staff across the country who have worked hard to put in place a range of protective measures to reduce the risk for children and staff.”
