Kelly is Taken to Task

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The head of a teachers' union has launched an attack on the "cowboy" approach of the Government to education.

John White branded Education Secretary Ruth Kelly a "Calamity Jane" and said her department had no integrity.

Marking his election as head of the National Association of Head Teachers, he said all credibility had drained from the Government since the departure of former education boss Estelle Morris.

Mr White said: "We've had Charles Bronson Clarke - and now it's Calamity Jane.

"It seems to me that when Estelle left, integrity departed. Her successors have been sadly lacking.

"If we were talking about builders we'd be describing them as cowboys."

He said Ms Kelly had "ducked out" of her first big challenge in the Cabinet post, reforming the A-Level and GCSE exams system.

Mr White went on: "We need a government that is prepared to listen. We need a government that cares.

"I had great hopes when this government first came to power. Unfortunately they seem to have picked up the sound-bites and gimmicks of previous governments."