Having just completed administering the threshold applications in my school, I feel obliged to express my frustration and disapproval of this futile initiative.

When Labour took office in 1997, every school in Wales received a letter from the Welsh Office promising that the burden of bureaucracy would be substantially curtailed. The threshold initiative proves the opposite is happening.

Teachers in my school have spent between 10 and 20 hours of their free time preparing a document to inform an external assessor and me how effective they are. In turn, I have spent 10 hours preparing for meetings arranged by the LEA. Processing the applications took about 12 hours and I spent a further three hours in consultation with the external assessor.

I have not learned one new fact about the performance of any of my teachers during those 25 hours. The staff in my school have also wasted approximately 200 hours on this.

Wil Morus Jones
Headteacher,
Ysgol Gymraeg Evan James,
Pontypridd