THE National Education Union (NEU) slammed Ofsted today for continuing inspections while school staff suffer from anxiety and stress due to the coronavirus.

NEU joint-leader Mary Bousted said that it is unacceptable for the school inspectorate to be adding extra burdens on teaching staff during the pandemic. 

She urged Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman to follow the example of the Welsh and Scottish school-inspection bodies and cease routine inspections in England.

“School leaders and staff are straining every sinew to support and protect their students,” Ms Bousted said in a statement.

“They should be allowed to focus on this, not have their stress made worse by the threat of an imminent Ofsted inspection.”

The Welsh school-inspection body Estyn said yesterday that all inspections and related activities are to be suspended until further notice in order to allow staff to “focus fully” on the wellbeing of their pupils, staff and families.

School inspections have also been halted in Scotland until the Easter break.

NEU joint general secretaries Ms Bousted and Kevin Courtney said in a letter on Sunday: “Even if there are no reported cases in schools, all leaders and staff are highly alert and responding to a range of pressing concerns and issues about the management of Covid-19, all of which involve changes to school routines and an intensification of already excessive workloads.”

In response to concerns, Ofsted spokesman Dan Lambert said: “We have briefed all of our inspectors on the challenges [teachers] are facing and the updated deferral policy. 

“They are then working together to assess the risks.”

The call came before a meeting between teaching unions, school leaders and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson yesterday afternoon, where they were expected to discuss the implications of schools closures and exams being postponed.

The issue has sparked a heated debate, with the NEU sending a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the weekend demanding a full disclosure on why the government has decided to keep schools open. 

Ms Bousted and Mr Courtney asked why such a different approach is being taken in Britain — described as an “outlier” in its response — compared with other countries.

Mr Johnson has said that schools will stay open because closures could “do more harm than good.”