Headteacher says Government getting in the way of teaching

Aug 14 2009 by Nicola Juncar, The Journal

HEADTEACHERS are being stopped from getting on with their jobs. This is the claim from a former North East headteacher who says government policies are getting in the way of teaching and learning. Nicola Juncar reports.

THE growing number of regulations and procedures schools are expected to adhere to has been branded a “major problem”.

A former North East headteacher has spoken out about how school leaders are being kept from the classroom and getting on with their work.

John Dunford, who used to be the head at 1,800-pupil Durham Johnston, in Durham City, says headteachers are being put under too much pressure to take on more and more policies.

He accuses the government of “interfering” too much and says heads should be allowed to get on with the daily running of their schools.

Mr Dunford, who is the general secretary for the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “The huge number of regulations and guidance papers landing on headteachers’ desks presents a major problem.

“They cannot read it all and they certainly cannot implement it.

“Heads therefore inevitably have to choose what is important for their school, while never losing their focus on the most important jobs of the school – teaching and learning. There has been at least one Education Act every year for the last 20 years and all governments during this period have inundated schools with new laws and the regulations and guidance that inevitably follow.

“As public expectations of education have risen, governments have interfered in an increasingly detailed way in the everyday work of schools.”

Mr Dunford’s comments follow claims by the Tory party that the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DSCF) was “swamping” schools with policies and regulations.

Shadow schools secretary Michael Gove accused ministers of inundating schools with “a tide of paper” rather than giving them powers to carry out their job.

But the DCSF said the Tories’ claims were misleading, insisting the allegations confused schools’ legal responsibilities with “communications” sent out by the government.