Archives for OFSTED

An Open Letter To David Cameron On Forced Academisation

Dear Prime Minister, I’ve just seen your performance at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions where you defended the government’s decision to force all schools to become academies. I notice you didn’t say that all schools will be forced to join multi-academy trusts (MATs) – a subtle but important distinction. As you know, there is considerable concern that  the education white paper’s reference to MATs – effectively abolishing single school academies – smacks of ‘pre-privatisation’ and will usher in the march of the robber barons, existing chains becoming rapidly larger, and mergers happening to ensure that there are a manageable number of …

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We Need Some New Ideas On Tackling Classroom Behaviour

Here’s a quote from the English Secretary of State for Education: “If some pupils behave badly they can harm education for other pupils…We need to tackle the roots of bad behaviour….This package of measures will support local education authorities and schools who face the toughest challenges. In return for our investment we must ensure that bad behaviour is tackled head on” The reference to supporting local education authorities probably tipped you off – this isn’t Nicky Morgan speaking. In fact it was Estelle Morris, speaking in 2002. In 2005 Secretary of State, Ruth Kelly (wow, remember her?) announced a range …

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Do Schools Belong To Communities, Or To Governments?

Although I’ve spent the last 6 weeks working in Australia, I’ve been following the so-called ‘Trojan Horse’ story back home in the UK. This is a deeply disturbing case of political interference, whatever the outcome of current machinations (more below). I’ve written before about the need to take politics out of education, and the catastrophic effects of structures which emphasise accountability over trust. Others with much bigger audiences than I (Pasi Sahlberg, Diane Ravitch) argue along similar lines. The GERM (Global Education Reform Movement) that Pasi describes is wreaking havoc on the patient (public schooling) but, if anything, politicians are …

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