According to the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), the government’s Education Bill, which received royal assent last week, paid too much attention to structures, powers and exaggerated disciplinary issues rather than supporting good quality teaching.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT, said: “The Education Bill has generated a mixed reaction within the profession. School leaders have welcomed the introduction of anonymity for teachers before charges are brought, the tightening of Ofsted's focus, and the extension of early years provision."

"However, they are concerned that some of the new powers on behaviour are unhelpful and unusable. The assumption underpinning the Bill, of a widespread problem with behaviour, is unproven and mistaken, and these provisions will therefore have less impact than hoped.

“The new powers for the Secretary of State to intervene in under-performance will also generate concern about how they will be used and how local communities will be involved in choices about local schools."

Hobby continued: “Above all, though, the NAHT hopes that we can move the education debate on from structures and powers to the real driver of performance: the quality of teaching. Remarkably little was done in this Bill to address the promise of the title of its white paper, The Importance of Teaching. Retirements are up, applications are down and morale is low. This represents a serious threat to the quality of education that must be addressed urgently. A large pay cut is not the way to do it; and a focus on subjects and degree classes is not the way to do it.”

Further information:
NAHT