Wednesday 10 December 2014

Wilshaw puts both feet in his mouth...

Breathtaking comments by Head of Ofsted, Michael Wilshaw this morning on BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme.

Wilshaw says 'autonomy' in the management of schools is a 'good thing'. By this he means Academies and Free schools. The interviewer asks Wilshaw if both Academies and Free schools are performing as badly as Local Authority schools. Yes, says Wilshaw. The interviewer asks Wilshaw why, then, are Academies and Free schools a 'good thing'? Wilshaw 'answers'  this (i.e. he doesn't answer it) by saying that autonomy and freedom is a 'good thing' but the Academies and Free schools need 'monitoring'. They need better monitoring, he says.

At which point, the interviewer could have asked, 'You mean, something like…er….a Local Authority?' 

She didn't. But that's OK. He already sounded like someone who needed close monitoring himself.