Despite being a weekly reader of The TES and valuing the publication, I am contacting you to complain about the lack of coverage of the special education sector in this week’s article about the rush towards academy status among primary and secondary schools.
It may well be that the Conservatives’ plans are discriminatory against special schools themselves - but if so it would have helped for The TES to state this.
In particular, I would have found it useful to see how we compare in our sector (as an “outstanding” school). Your report noted that Ofsted figures from January show that 14 per cent of all primaries and 19 per cent of all secondaries have this top inspection rating. It left me begging the question of what the percentage is for special schools? (A whopping 39 per cent - Ed)
Sean O’Sullivan, Headteacher, Frank Wise School, Banbury.