Cedric Cullingford (Professor of Education at Huddersfield University)
“Gervase Phinn, retired long time primary schools inspector and author, has admitted that teacher lesson ratings are a lottery;
Chris Woodhead, former Chief Inspector of Schools, has recently said that OFSTED is a waste of time; primary heads have this year overwhelmingly voted to get rid of SATS.”
Quote from fellow blogger BEARWATCH – Friday 5th June
Quote from fellow blogger BEARWATCH – Friday 5th June
It seems there is a vast amount of dis-satisfaction around in education at the moment, and it is interesting to note that the criticism is coming from people who were intimately involved in the field of education.
Cedric Cullingford has recently retired from his position as Professor of Education at Huddersfield University.
Gervase Phinn was a primary school inspector for many years, and having met him and spoken with him I would say he has his finger on the pulse in education and knows what he is talking about. His comment “Teacher lesson ratings are a lottery” is so true. If you get a bright bunch of children in your class when the lesson rating is being done it is highly likely that you will get a good mark, but what about if you get the remedial bunch on a Friday afternoon, last period? They will have switched off, and their brains will no doubt have left the premises, even if their bodies are still there! Your teacher lesson rating will have sunk rapidly!
Chris Woodhead was the first Chief Inspector for Ofsted. He remained in post between 1994 – 2000.
Chris Woodhead is particularly associated with support for "traditional teaching methods" and for taking a scornful view of "progressive educational theories" introduced into English schools from the 1960s onwards. Supporters claimed that Woodhead was a radical reformer willing to tackle the failings of the education system and only encountering the defensiveness of the educational establishment. Critics argued that he was generating poor morale, rarely identified successes in schools, and that the "progressive teaching" he attacked was a straw man, with little resemblance to actual classroom practices. Woodhead most prominently identified weaknesses in schools with poor teaching and repeatedly asserted this view. Amongst his controversial remarks he claimed there were "15,000 incompetent teachers" and "I am paid to challenge mediocrity, failure and complacency". His blunt approach gained him many enemies, especially in the teaching profession.
When the Labour government came to power in 1997 there was much political pressure to replace Woodhead, either immediately or when his initial term expired in 1998, but instead he was retained and his appointment renewed by Education Secretary David Blunkett.
On 2nd Nov 2000 Chris Woodhead announced his resignation from Ofsted.
Chris Woodhead was the first Chief Inspector for Ofsted. He remained in post between 1994 – 2000.
Chris Woodhead is particularly associated with support for "traditional teaching methods" and for taking a scornful view of "progressive educational theories" introduced into English schools from the 1960s onwards. Supporters claimed that Woodhead was a radical reformer willing to tackle the failings of the education system and only encountering the defensiveness of the educational establishment. Critics argued that he was generating poor morale, rarely identified successes in schools, and that the "progressive teaching" he attacked was a straw man, with little resemblance to actual classroom practices. Woodhead most prominently identified weaknesses in schools with poor teaching and repeatedly asserted this view. Amongst his controversial remarks he claimed there were "15,000 incompetent teachers" and "I am paid to challenge mediocrity, failure and complacency". His blunt approach gained him many enemies, especially in the teaching profession.
When the Labour government came to power in 1997 there was much political pressure to replace Woodhead, either immediately or when his initial term expired in 1998, but instead he was retained and his appointment renewed by Education Secretary David Blunkett.
On 2nd Nov 2000 Chris Woodhead announced his resignation from Ofsted.
As head of Ofsted, Chris Woodhead used to thrive on outrage. He denounced useless teachers (there were 15,000 of them) and trendy progressive methods in the classroom, while his inspectors inspired fear and loathing in schools across England.
But since resigning from Ofsted he states that the schools inspection body is an "irrelevance" and "a waste of public money.”
Woodhead, who led Ofsted from 1994 to 2000 before falling out with the education secretary David Blunkett said that the inspection regime was "an exercise driven by the analysis of the data, and as such, I think, contributes very little to a school's understanding of what it's doing.
"It has become part of the problem in another, perhaps more sinister, way. It has become an agent of state enforcement."
Could this be a change of heart by the old enforcer? Well, no. It's more that Ofsted is no longer following his policies.
"Ofsted inspectors are meant to comment on schools' contributions to 'community cohesion'. These are distractions from what teachers should be doing. Ofsted is focusing on them. Therefore Ofsted is part of the problem."
What should the government be doing? Selection, grammar schools and a voucher system that would let good schools thrive and bad ones sink.
Once upon a time I would have been one of those joining in the staffroom parties when Chris Woodhead announced his resignation, but today I am much more in agreement with what he stands for. It is just a shame that these people who are now openly criticizing Ofsted, Education Policies, The Secretary of Education and the Government in general have had to wait until they retired before they felt it wise to offer such open criticism.
In an article in today’s Yorkshire Post Chris Woodhead states “Some children are clever, others are not. It’s as simple as that.”
As he sees it, the refusal to admit that some children aren’t clever has set teaching back years. Mavericks have been replaced by teachers who are afraid to speak their minds. Academia has become devalued and exams have become easier, a lot easier. The education system has become obsessed with “inclusiveness.” No one dares say one child is brighter than another. Some children are clever, others are not. It’s as simple as that. I agree we need an education system that gives all children a chance to succeed but that’s not what we’ve got at the moment. Today we are faced with an education system that would have us all believe that children are getting brighter and brighter year on year, and teaching standards have never been better.
What about the question of exams? It would appear that each year we have more children achieving better and better results, but Woodhead argues, as do many others, that the exams have been “dumbed down.” If you look at exam papers over the last 30 or 40 years the only possible conclusion you can come to is that exams have got easier. Ten years ago he told the House of Commons Select Committee that A Levels were no longer fit for purpose. With the teaching profession itself having become a default for those who don’t know what to do when they leave university Woodhead fears his previous estimate of the number of incompetent teachers may well be out of date.
But since resigning from Ofsted he states that the schools inspection body is an "irrelevance" and "a waste of public money.”
Woodhead, who led Ofsted from 1994 to 2000 before falling out with the education secretary David Blunkett said that the inspection regime was "an exercise driven by the analysis of the data, and as such, I think, contributes very little to a school's understanding of what it's doing.
"It has become part of the problem in another, perhaps more sinister, way. It has become an agent of state enforcement."
Could this be a change of heart by the old enforcer? Well, no. It's more that Ofsted is no longer following his policies.
"Ofsted inspectors are meant to comment on schools' contributions to 'community cohesion'. These are distractions from what teachers should be doing. Ofsted is focusing on them. Therefore Ofsted is part of the problem."
What should the government be doing? Selection, grammar schools and a voucher system that would let good schools thrive and bad ones sink.
Once upon a time I would have been one of those joining in the staffroom parties when Chris Woodhead announced his resignation, but today I am much more in agreement with what he stands for. It is just a shame that these people who are now openly criticizing Ofsted, Education Policies, The Secretary of Education and the Government in general have had to wait until they retired before they felt it wise to offer such open criticism.
In an article in today’s Yorkshire Post Chris Woodhead states “Some children are clever, others are not. It’s as simple as that.”
As he sees it, the refusal to admit that some children aren’t clever has set teaching back years. Mavericks have been replaced by teachers who are afraid to speak their minds. Academia has become devalued and exams have become easier, a lot easier. The education system has become obsessed with “inclusiveness.” No one dares say one child is brighter than another. Some children are clever, others are not. It’s as simple as that. I agree we need an education system that gives all children a chance to succeed but that’s not what we’ve got at the moment. Today we are faced with an education system that would have us all believe that children are getting brighter and brighter year on year, and teaching standards have never been better.
What about the question of exams? It would appear that each year we have more children achieving better and better results, but Woodhead argues, as do many others, that the exams have been “dumbed down.” If you look at exam papers over the last 30 or 40 years the only possible conclusion you can come to is that exams have got easier. Ten years ago he told the House of Commons Select Committee that A Levels were no longer fit for purpose. With the teaching profession itself having become a default for those who don’t know what to do when they leave university Woodhead fears his previous estimate of the number of incompetent teachers may well be out of date.
If the last twelve years have taught us anything its that attempting to run every state school across the country from Whitehall irrespective of what parents and teachers want is doomed to failure. Teachers have become afraid of disagreeing with the party line and parents feel they have no say in their children’s education.
It’s time we, as users of the education system, took the bull by the horns and vehemently demanded that this country’s education system was restored to something which many parents and teachers want.
It’s time we, as users of the education system, took the bull by the horns and vehemently demanded that this country’s education system was restored to something which many parents and teachers want.
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