NAHT: Teachers must accept responsibility for their performance
National Association of Head Teachers union's general secretary Russell Hobby comments on Michael Gove's plans to drive up teaching standards:
"The simplest way to protect teachers is to be seen to be taking responsibility for our own performance. There is so much good practice out there that I think the profession has nothing to fear.
"Clearer systems of performance management are one way to build up the professional reputation of teachers and get those outside the classroom to let the experts get on with the job.
"Teachers deserve to be regarded as skilled professionals driven by a sense of vocation and making a real impact. For those who are clearly unsuited to teaching, it is in everyone's interests – not just of pupils but of the profession's reputation – that, after a fair process, they should be helped to pursue their career elsewhere.
"Everyone deserves to know how they are doing and how they can develop. And this needs to be done out in the open. The revised procedures reflect a large proportion of NAHT's hopes. They are simple and flexible, firm but fair."
