Given the School Secretary’s plans to curtail spending, may I suggest two areas where he could make significant cuts and improve the quality of primary education?
Firstly, the abolition of Sats would allow teachers to teach more imaginatively. There are plenty of reliable alternative tests available for schools, which take into account the age of the child rather than sticking them into a crude levelling system.
My second proposal is to shut Ofsted. It is an unnecessary expense because each school has a school improvement partner, who should have the knowledge and expertise to carry out all the inspection that Ofsted does at present.
Dennis Lynch, Retired headteacher, Essex.