What a pity that the NASUWT is so insecure about the status of its members and has so little understanding of the selection process (“Teachers told ‘boycott interviews by pupils’”, TES, May 25). Where pupils are involved in the appointment of teachers, they are just one of many voices heard by the panel of governors and senior staff who make the final decision.
I was recently part of two appointment panels in a secondary school, one to select a deputy head and one a teacher. A group of pupils met each and gave us their views. We were impressed by the maturity, perspicacity and balance of the 15 and 16-year-olds. Being committed adults, we welcomed and respected their views but gave them no more weight than those of the others who interviewed the candidates.
Stephen Adamson. Vice-chair, National Governors’ Association, Birmingham
