English lessons 'could improve'

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Standards in English are not rising fast enough in primary or secondary schools, England's chief inspector of schools has said.

Head of Ofsted Christine Gilbert said too much teaching was "no better than satisfactory" and there was a big gap between the best schools and the rest.

But in its report Ofsted also said teaching in seven out of 10 English lessons was good or outstanding.

Teachers' leaders have accused the body of "moving the goalposts".

The NASUWT union said Ofsted was "part of the problem".

'Significant gap'

Ofsted's report, called "English at the crossroads", says that progress has been made in the past five years and standards have risen - but not fast enough.

Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, said: "This report presents a challenge to schools. There is a significant gap between the most effective schools and the rest.

"The most effective provide a dynamic and productive English curriculum, responding to changes in society and pupils' literacy needs and leading to higher standards.

"However, too much English teaching is no better than satisfactory and too many pupils are not able to make the progress they then need to catch up."

The report, based on school visits and published statistics, notes that boys are lagging behind girls and that the gap is evident early on at school. Primary school standards in writing, it says, are lower than those for reading.

Internet footage

Inspectors say that, in the best lessons, teachers keep children's interest using a variety of information and media - such as footage from the internet. This helps motivate pupils and develop their literacy skills, the report says.

Enthusiastic teaching with lots of practical activities is vital.

The inspectors say more ways should be found to identify and share good teaching methods if English is to improve further.

Another recommendation is that schools should give more opportunities for independent learning in English, improve the quality of homework and encourage pupils to read more widely.

No matter how much or how quickly results improve, Ofsted will continue to move the goalposts Chris Keates, NASUWT teachers' union

Christine Gilbert said: "Our report shows that with strong leadership, a clear vision for the subject and teaching that really engages pupils and enables them to think for themselves, it is possible to enthuse students and improve standards."

One of the biggest teaching unions, the NASUWT, said it was "extremely sceptical" about the value of such reports from Ofsted.

Its general secretary, Chris Keates, said: "Ofsted's definition of what is 'good' changes on an annual basis, making it impossible to compare results over any period of time.

"This report says results are not improving fast enough. What does that actually mean? No matter how much or how quickly results improve, Ofsted will continue to move the goalposts. It's a race teachers can never win.

"One of the biggest single factors which undermine the efforts of teachers to raise standards is the amount of time they have to spend meeting the real or perceived needs of Ofsted rather than being able to prioritise the needs of pupils. Ofsted is part of the problem, not the solution."