Weak schools struggle with teacher ‘burnout’

Ofsted is warning of struggling underachieving schools where teachers ‘burn out’.

The watchdog’s annual report says there are roughly 100 schools which have not reached ‘good’ status in inspections since 2005.

Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman’s report says despite ‘attention and investment’ the schools had not improved and were struggling to recruit teachers and keep head teachers.

But ASCL head teachers’ union leader Geoff Barton said Ofsted could be part of the problem.

When schools are ‘stigmatised’ by bad Ofsted reports, recruiting staff and pupils becomes more difficult and schools could get ‘trapped in cycles of underperformance’, Barton said.

He said the problem was being exacerbated by a ‘teacher recruitment and retention crisis’ and the ‘underfunding of schools’.

The annual report shows that overall 90 per cent of all primary schools and 79 per cent of secondary schools are rated good or outstanding.

But Spielman has warned of about 500 primary schools and 200 secondary schools which have been rated as requiring improvement on their previous two inspections.

The struggling schools are likely to be in areas with a high proportion of poor white pupils, have a high turnover of staff, and have heads and teachers facing ‘burnout’.

Schools can also be caught up in changes from the academy system, being closed and re-opened, with gaps in inspections, or left without any academy sponsor at all.

The report shows that only 34 per cent of local authority children’s services departments are good or outstanding - but this is an improvement on 26 per cent in the previous report.

The chief inspector has highlighted particular concerns about education standards in young offenders institutions, which she said could be ‘extremely poor’.

Spielman said: “Young people who have committed a crime should be punished, that is what society expects. But the vast majority of juvenile offenders also deserve a second chance. That starts with a good education.

"If through a poor education, we close down other avenues they have for success, we are setting the pathway for a life of crime.

"Without access to a proper, decent learning and training we are passing de facto life sentences on young offenders.”

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “We are targeting the areas that need the most support through our opportunity areas.

"And by investing £280 million over the next two years to target resources at the schools most in need to improve school performance and deliver more good school places.”