Michael Wilshaw | Schools Week

The rebel CEO with a community cause

Wayne Norrie is a MAT chief determined to always put children’s needs first, even if that means clashing with others … Wayne Norrie says he’s not accountable to the Department for Education or Ofsted. The chief executive of Greenwood Academies Trust (GAT) says he’s only accountable to the parents and children of his 37 schools, […]

Amanda Spielman’s Ofsted moves away from ‘male-dominated’ culture

Ofsted’s next inspection framework will promote a more “collaborative” approach to leadership, in a move away from the “male-dominated” culture of the watchdog’s past, a senior inspector has said. According to Gill Jones, Ofsted’s deputy director for early education, Amanda Spielman has sought to steer the organisation’s approach to rating school leadership away from the legacy […]

Sir Michael Wilshaw joins board of Education Policy Institute

Sir Michael Wilshaw has become a trustee at Education Policy Institute (EPI) following his departure from Ofsted at the end of last year. The former chief inspector has joined the board at EPI, a think tank based in London, at which he has given talks and even spoken critically with regards their reports previously. He swells the […]

Wilshaw: I would have refused pupil immigration checks as head

The collection of pupil nationality and country of birth data by schools is a “daft idea”, Sir Michael Wilshaw has said, indicating that he would have refused to carry out immigration checks on pupils when he was a headteacher. The outgoing chief inspector of Ofsted gave his view on recent disclosures that Theresa May wanted teachers to […]

Wilshaw warns against over-reliance on data as he lists proudest Ofsted achievements

Sir Michael Wilshaw has warned against an over-reliance on data in judging schools, as he listed his proudest achievements at the helm of Ofsted in one of his last speeches as chief inspector. The Ofsted boss told delegates at an Education Policy Institute event this morning that a purely data-driven school accountability system would save the government […]

Despite popular belief, boxing has never actually been banned in schools

Last week, Sir Michael Wilshaw sent a stern letter to headteachers who failed to stop a mass fight among pupils at their four schools. The leaders ought to have got wind of the event and intervened, he said. It wasn’t always this way though; at one point in time schools literally taught children how to […]

Sir David Carter: Claim that trusts failed because they grew too quickly is a “myth”

The national schools commissioner has claimed the idea early academy sponsors failed because they grew too quickly is “a myth”, instead stating it was because they gave too much autonomy to their failing schools and did not have a trust-wide improvement plan. It had been widely established across the education community that trusts such as […]

Wilshaw reveals recipe for success after inspecting 7 top academy trusts

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has singled out seven academy trusts for praise, while taking another swipe at struggling trusts for “empire building”. Wilshaw, in his monthly commentary published today, said Ofsted inspectors visited seven trusts to find out “what marks them out from their weaker counterparts”. The trusts (full list below) were chosen […]

Schools reporting remit widened in missing pupils crackdown

Schools will now have a duty to collect additional details about pupils deemed missing from education – including the name of the person they are living with – under tougher rules introduced following concerns pupils were being radicalised. The expansion of duties regarding pupils who go missing from mainstream school wills come into force from […]