School inspections create “fear and panic” and need to be redefined; councillors have been told.
West Lothian’s Education Executive has approved a response to the Scottish Government’s plans to change the national inspections.
But a major teaching union said it was “absolutely opposed” to “snapshot inspections” which can distort the image of a school to parents.
Lisamaria Purdie, Head of Education (Primary, Early Learning and Resources) told a meeting of the Education Executive that the public consultation: “asked broad questions about what works well in current school inspection models, where challenges or unintended consequences exist, and how these could be overcome.”
She added that headteachers had been encouraged to respond, and Education department officers had prepared a service response which she tabled for approval by councillors.
Heather Hughes, the West Lothian Secretary of the Education Institute of Scotland EIS, the country’s largest teaching union, asked the meeting: “Teachers are at the forefront, so why were they not asked for their views?”
Ms Purdie responded that teachers could respond as individuals.
Mrs Hughes told councillors: “From the teachers’ point of view we are absolutely opposed to high stakes HMIE inspections that are happening just now.
“Anyone who is involved with them will understand just how hideous it is when that comes in, usually just before holidays.
“It creates fear and panic in all areas of the school and schools are judged on what comes out of that. Wrongly, we feel, because all HMIE [inspections] are seeing is a snapshot.
“It affects parents’ views of schools. It doesn’t give a full picture at all, it’s a snapshot and not a representation of what goes on on a day-to-day basis.”
Mrs Hughes concluded: “Teachers in West Lothian and all over Scotland are absolutely opposed to the high stakes grading this report mentions.
“There is absolutely no need for grading. We believe there has to be accountability, but it should be supportive and collegiate, and working together, not this ‘Let’s parachute in, let’s make judgements over a couple of days’, which then belong to the schools and are not helpful.”
Councillor Susan Manion, the depute leader of the council, agreed that there had been widespread concerns raised about the review and praised the “measured response” from council officers.
Mrs Manion, for Labour, added: “It’s a very reasonable approach to ensure the inspections are planned and handled appropriately.”
Linlithgow’s Lib Dem councillor Sally Pattle, who sits on the Education Quality Assurance Committee, backed up the concerns of the EIS, and said she heard in committee a “couple of reports which had come up with surprising conclusions”.
She also referred to changes demanded in England.
Councillor Pattle added: “Inspection is a snapshot and I know that it can cause upset and stress.”
Referring the the West Lothian consultation response she added: “I do think the response is measured and will hopefully feed into a more understanding framework which takes teachers into account.”
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
