In the news

Ofsted framework

Ahead of ASCL's Annual Conference on 5 March, the association's views were widely reported on the high number of schools downgraded under the new Ofsted framework. General Secretary John Dunford appeared on BBC News Channel and was quoted in The Independent, Daily Telegraph and Guardian.

The articles quoted his conference speech in which he said: "Ofsted said it was raising the bar on the latest inspection framework but we didn't realise they were going to double the height schools had to jump."

Job losses

Another media story coming out of the Annual Conference was ASCL's concern, highlighted in John Dunford's speech, about the increasing number of school leaders losing their jobs, especially after a poor inspection or in the move to academy status.

Deputy general secretary Martin Ward appeared on BBC News on the Sunday of the conference and the story ran in the Observer and Daily Telegraph.

John Dunford was quoted as saying: We have lost a lot of talented school leaders who are unlikely to return to another headship after such a bruising experience. Some local authorities think sacking a few headteachers is evidence that they are vigilant and active in school improvement."

Absence figures

Commenting on the latest absence statistics at the end of March, John Dunford was quoted in The Sun as saying: Schools work very hard to send a clear message that allowing children to miss classes disrupts their learning and puts them at a disadvantage in the long term." The Independent also quoted ASCL's view.