Sunday 19 February 2012

Week 8: Your opinion on one of the latest education news stories

"Sir Michael Wilshaw says unless schools have outstanding teaching, they could be stripped of that rating overall."


I'm going to comment on this article in the Guardian.


The more I read about Michael Wilshaw the more I wonder what his objective is. Is it to further aggravate the tense relationship between Ofsted and teachers? Is it to push more teachers out of the profession? Is it to confuse parents? It is to demoralise children and undermine confidence in their teachers? Whatever it is, I'm not sure that I can agree that schools can only be outstanding if the teaching is outstanding.


Don't get me wrong - of course outstanding teachers is what we all should aspire to be. But surely a school  can be outstanding in lots of ways without every lesson having to be classified as 'outstanding'. 


A school can achieve well in tests (grrrr...), promote the spiritual, cultural, emotional, financial and physical health of its children and provide opportunities for children to shine in a million different ways. But on the day Ofsted turn up, the teaching is only good. The staff can be well-managed, highly motivated, caring and dedicated professionals. But on the day Ofsted turn up, the teaching is only good.


The government are suggesting that they want schools to have more freedom over the curriculum they teach. Surely it's going to be even harder to achieve that outstanding grading.



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