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Latest Blog Posts
- What curriculum do young people need? July 23, 2020
- School reopening? top scientists say not yet May 25, 2020
- Sending England back to work and back to school? May 11, 2020
- Too early to reopen schools : look at Europe April 30, 2020
- Ofsted : unreliable, destructive, beyond repair December 5, 2019
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Tag Archives: inspection
Ofsted : unreliable, destructive, beyond repair
Ofsted is clearly beyond repair, and the Election provides an opportunity to close it for good. This will help to stop the mass exodus of teachers from England’s schools. It will help schools concentrate on what really matters: children’s education … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability
Tagged accountability pressures, disadvantage, inspection, Ofsted
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Ofsted: notoriously unreliable
Ofsted judgments have never been trustworthy. There have been problems from the start. It should come as no surprise that none of the 46 schools wearing an Outstanding label which were inspected this January retained that label: 37 became Good, … Continue reading
Urgent action on Ofsted
Ofsted are desperately trying to rebrand themselves, including the claim that they will rely less on test data and more on intelligent engagement with the school’s curriculum. There are good reasons to be sceptical about this, given the hit-and-run nature … Continue reading
Grim up north?
In his final report as Ofsted’s chief inspector, Michael Wilshaw chose to launch again into a polemic about the poor quality of schools in the North of England. The data he used needs more serious analysis. In recent months, Wilshaw has … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Uncategorized
Tagged accountability pressures, disadvantage, inspection, Ofsted, PISA, poverty, youth unemployment
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Robin Alexander on Ofsted’s new boss
Michael Wilshaw too progressive? Whatever next! A few days ago news appeared that the Chief Inspector is so out of favour with the Government that they are not renewing his contract. This is not entirely surprising given his opposition to more grammar schools, … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Governance
Tagged academies, accountability pressures, inspection, Ofsted, politicians
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Bullying by numbers – its roots in neoliberalism
by Terry Wrigley, Visiting Professor, Northumbria University There is relentless pressure to raise standards – or rather scores – and it’s driving thousands of teachers to quit. The insatiable demands amount to bullying – bullying by numbers, reinforced by a … Continue reading
Low-level apprenticeships reflect Britain’s ‘coffee shop’ economy
by Martin Allen Ofsted’s hard hitting report on the quality of apprenticeship provision Apprenticeships: developing skills for future prosperity confirms what is increasingly becoming apparent. Large numbers of apprenticeships are poor quality, involve little real training and merely certify ‘existing … Continue reading
Posted in Social Justice
Tagged apprenticeships, disadvantage, inspection, Ofsted, politicians, Vocational education, youth unemployment
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The apprenticeship swindle
Apprenticeships used to be an esteemed form of skills training, leading to relatively secure and well paid careers. Now the government are trading on the word’s positive connotations while selling short millions of young people. Three years ago, this was … Continue reading
Posted in Social Justice, Uncategorized
Tagged apprenticeships, inspection, Vocational education, youth unemployment
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Ofsted: requiring improvement
by Mick Waters, Professor of Education at Wolverhampton University See also extracts about Ofsted from his recent book http://reclaimingschools.org/2015/09/05/thinking-allowed-about-ofsted/ What are we to make of Ofsted? Is it the all-seeing regulator, the engine of school improvement, the guardian of standards … Continue reading
Labour’s education manifesto: academies, local authorities and the rest?
by Professor Richard Hatcher, Birmingham City University On April 13 Labour published its election manifesto on education, A better plan for education. It claims that ‘Over the past four and a half years Labour has worked closely with the education and … Continue reading
Reclaiming Schools 