Letter: No time for the basics in school

Sir: The National Association of Head Teachers waxes lyrical that schools must uphold moral values ("Schools' contracts 'need legal backing' ", 28 May).

However, they complain about parents who act entirely within the law by challenging detentions and exclusions. From previous reports they might have learned that the reason is perhaps bullying by one of those 15,000 teachers the Chief Inspector of Schools considers incompetent. We read that teachers are prepared to ask governers to break the law to subvert league tables for 11-year-olds. Is this teaching moral standards by example?

We may soon conclude that much of the immorality in adults stems from teachers who view behavioural difficulties as an irritant for themselves rather than as disability for their pupils.

Dr CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS