by Matt Trinder

Industrial reporter

DELEGATES at the National Education Union’s annual conference backed a motion today calling for the abolition of Ofsted and performance-based league tables.

Over three quarters (77 per cent) of the more than 10,000 school staff ho responded to the union’s State of Education survey, published to coincide with this week’s online event, said that reducing the role of the education inspectorate was vital to help schools recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Respondents said that reducing the pressure of “accountability measures” such as Ofsted and league tables that rank schools based on national exam results would enable them to focus on helping students catch up on learning after school closures during the pandemic.