Assessment, curriculum and accountability debate: NEU annual conference

The first debating session of NEU conference, starting on the Monday morning after the Executive Report and rule changes, is Assessment, Curriculum & Accountability.

This is against the backdrop of the government’s Assessment and Curriculum Review, which recognises that the current curriculum is not fit for purpose, but proposes only minor tweaks in response. It is also against the backdrop of the new Ofsted inspection framework that came into effect at the end of last year, moving from four areas of judgement to seven, and from a four-point scale to five. We recommend supporting all the motions and amendments.

Motion 8: Opposing the new Ofsted framework

The first motion (Motion 8, Opposing the new Ofsted framework) is a good motion that captures many of the faults of the new inspection framework, calling it “a rebrand that multiplies existing harms, creating more stress, instability, and ‘ways to fail’”. 

The only weakness in it is the instruction to campaign for the abolition of Ofsted “in its current form”, which implies opposition to this version of Ofsted rather than all the forms known since it was established in 1992. 

The NEU currently has clear policy (from the motion submitted by Rochdale District and passed unanimously in 2024) for Ofsted to be abolished and replaced by a system which is based on self-evaluation, support and collaboration between schools, and overseen locally” and which “promotes cooperation rather than competition between schools”. Amendment 8.2 from Rochdale proposes simply to remove the words “in its current form” to retain that policy, and should be passed uninmously too.

Before that, though, comes a difficult debate on the composited Amendment 8.1 from Oxfordshire and North Somerset. It arises from the political and media row that blew up around the postponement of a visit last September by Labour MP Damien Egan to a secondary school in Bristol, and the subsequent Ofsted ‘emergency inspection’. It is a good amendment, that should be supported - it points out that the inspection was imposed under government pressure, supposedly over safeguarding concerns”, that it was “politically motivated and unjustified”, and that “this illustrates the wider problem of Ofsted being used as a political tool”.

Absolutely right - so why is it at all ‘difficult’? Well, this is a composite of two motions, one (Oxfordshire, Sheffield and City of Derby) significantly better than the other (Oxfordshire). The Oxfordshire amendment didn’t just oppose political use of Ofsted, but also gave an interpretation of events that the original protests at the school were against “a supporter of a genocidal regime”. 

Those words were removed by the union's officers, presumably fearing the hot water this could plunge the NEU into if debated. But if it were true, we should be prepared to say it. The trouble is that there is no evidence that it is. There is a lot we would criticise Damien Egan for, but the allegation that he is “a supporter of a genocidal regime” is unfounded, and not a helpful way to build support for Palestinian freedom. There is a good summary of events and the issues here.

We will want to support this amendment, but also call out any false argumentation made by other speakers for it. 

Amendment 8.3 from Oldham adds in recognition of the impact of Ofsted beyond schools, such as on local authority staff. Amendment 8.4 from Newham takes up the issues of members acting as inspectors. We recommend support for both of these.

Motion 9: Prioritising the pedagogy of play

Composited Motion 9, Prioritising the pedagogy of play from Luton and Birmingham, is also a good motion, pointing out that the Reception Baseline Assessment is “a negative distraction from play, settling in and relationship building, which are all critical at the start of a child’s time in school”. We recommend support for it and all the amendments, which add in reference to the Writing Framework, the threats to Maintained Nursery Schools, and outdoor education.

Motion 10: Trust teachers

Motion 10, Trust teachers, end the culture of command and control, from Southampton, is also largely a good one, but marred by an odd instruction to the NEU executive to “develop a communications campaign aimed at senior leaders, governors and inspectors”!

Amendment 10.1 from Rochdale rightly replaces this with a campaign material for the NEU’s own members “to utilise in developing opposition to, and action against, standardised curriculum packages, scripted lessons or ‘virtual teachers’ in their own schools and districts.” It links the issue to the recent strike action by NEU members in Star Academies against ‘virtual teachers’ replacing teachers in the classroom - see the report here.

Amendment 10.2 from North Somerset adds a reference to the excellent research ‘Are you on Slide 8 yet?', commissioned by the union. Amendment 10.3 from Oldham importantly points out the vital role of support staff, and points out that “without collaborative working between teaching and support staff, young people would receive a poorer education”. It replaces the exclusive focus on the ‘Teachers’ with ‘Educators’. We support both.

Motion 11: Year 8 reading assessment

We also fully support Motion 11, Against the introduction of a statutory Year 8 reading assessment from Sheffield and Waltham Forest, and all the amendments. 

Amendment 11.1 instructs the executive to survey secondary members about the proposed Year 8 tests and their willingness to consider boycotting them. Amendment 11.2 links it to continued to opposition to the existing regime of primary phase testing. Amendment 11.3 links SEND and opposition to any use of Year 8 assessment data in accountability systems. Amendment 11.4 links in defence of school libraries.

Motion 12: Liberatory curriculum

Given the time for this section of conference (2 hours 35 minutes), it is unlikely that the last motion will be debated, Motion 12, Liberatory Curriculum from Lambeth and Bedford. This motion brings together a number of themes referenced in other motions, and the amendments usefully take up specific points from the government’s Review.

On the fringe

It is likely that the shortcomings of the government’s Assessment and Curricululum Review will be a topic on the conference fringe too. 

The Socialist Educational Association (SEA) has a fringe meeting on the topic on the Tuesday evening, 6.30pm at the Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton. This is the launch of a book, ‘After the Review’, which some Educators’ Fightback supporters have contributed to alongside people from other political strands in the NEU. The SEA has a ‘conference week deal’ of eight copies for £60 for NEU Districts and others. They can be ordered by email