Most teachers will agree that incompetent teachers should go. However, no one will welcometeachers being thrown out after hasty judgments from inspectors.
Unfortunately this appears to be the intention of Chris Woodhead who has criticised inspectors for being loath to brand teachers as incompetent. What’s more, it was ridiculous of school standards minister Stephen Byers to liken teachers to airline pilots.
Most air disasters are caused by mechanical failure or sabotage not pilot error. Similarly, a teacher’s “failure” might be traced to a lack of resources, or out-of-date equipment. The fault could also lie with unruly pupils. But excluding them is never as easy as getting the police to remove drunks from a plane.
SARAH JANAWAY
338 Park Lane Poynton, Cheshire
