General Teaching Council Northern Ireland

Teachers give bosses poor grade

BBC News


NI's five education boards need to do more to help gifted children and stop anti-social behaviour among pupils, according to a survey of schools.

The Audit Office asked head teachers to fill in a questionnaire assessing the performance of education boards.

Although most questions received a "fairly satisfied" response, less than 1% were rated "good" or "excellent".

The watchdog had expected a response from up to 60% of schools, but only 23% responded despite numerous reminders.

BBC NI education correspondent Maggie Taggart said the boards received "a lukewarm response to the services they provide".

The North Eastern board received most praise for its work on protecting the welfare of children, but the South Eastern board came in for criticism for how it helped pupils prepare for employment.

Belfast schools were least likely to respond to the survey, while those who did judged the board's performance to be below average on most issues.