Teachers "fear and loathe" education inspectorate Ofsted because of its "slash and burn approach", a teaching union conference heared.

"Schools are in a constant frenzy of inspection pressure," Dr Mary Bousted, head of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, is to tell delegates.

She has called for Ofsted's role to be changed, adding that its inspections are "surplus to requirements".

She said performance in England should be monitored in a different way.

The key to the inspections in future could be new school improvement partners, who are advisers, serving head teachers or consultants allocated to schools by their local authorities.

They could monitor a school's performance, provide practical support for improvement and advise the local authority on any intervention needed.

Dr Bousted told delegates at the conference in Bournemouth: "I am not arguing that teachers should not be accountable for their work.

"I am not arguing that schools should not be accountable for their standards.

"But at present we have a confusing mess of accountabilities. This needs to be sorted out."

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