Negative teachers risk 'putting off' others by talking about the 'things that make us want to give up', Ofsted warns... as outrage mounts over pay, workload and funding

Teachers should stop being so 'negative' about their jobs as it risks 'putting off' others, the new head of Ofsted warned yesterday.

Sir Martyn Oliver cautioned against talking too much about 'the stresses' and 'things that make us want to give up' as it could become 'all-encompassing'.

Speaking at the annual conference of the headteachers' union NAHT, he urged them to 'talk about the positives a little more'.

His comments come amid cross-union campaigns about teacher pay, excessive workload and claims of inadequate funding, while a recruitment crisis saw only half the number of trainees signing up last year compared with the official target.

Sir Martyn, who took up his post earlier this year, has vowed to make the profession less stressful in the wake of the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life after her school was downgraded following an Ofsted inspection.

He announced an end to 'deep dives' into individual subjects in follow-up inspections of schools already rated as 'good' and 'outstanding'. 

And he said: 'I'm not diminishing the very real issues in schools. But I do worry that, if a narrative of negativity becomes all-encompassing... we risk putting off a generation of brilliant and inspiring teachers.'