Michael Wilshaw | Schools Week

Let’s give Ofsted’s short inspections two cheers (for now)

The lighter-touch regime is a welcome move, but why is the chief inspector still obsessing over pupils being well behaved and showing respect when finding after finding shows this is the norm in the vast majority of schools? Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted’s chief inspector is right to point out that since September 2015 it has […]

‘Talking down the job of a headteacher stops people doing it’

Being a headteacher is a tough job: but it is also a brilliant one. Let’s talk up the positives and encourage the best senior leaders to take on the challenge. It is true that being a headteacher is not an easy task, and that’s not surprising: you have hundreds of young people in your care, […]

‘Health care asks patients to design its services, why don’t we ask pupils?’

Disengaged pupils can be reconnected to their learning by teachers will to take innovative approaches already seen in the health sector. But do schools have the time, funds and courage to try out these ideas? A year on from the launch of the coalition government’s “workload challenge”, the burden on teachers is still under scrutiny. […]

You don’t need to be paid to do a professional job

Sir Michael Wilshaw is right: governors need professional development. But he’s wrong about the money. It would be a mistake to do away with the voluntary nature of governance altogether Governance is getting better. Boards are taking their development seriously, many more understand performance data than five years ago, and far more are concentrating on […]

Governors might be in danger of getting too much attention

As a chair of governors I agree with Michael Wilshaw’s commentary that “Governance is an issue that does not always get the attention it merits”. That is certainly true of Ofsted inspections which until recently have only given it token attention. It is also true of the research community who have largely neglected it. Government […]

Ofsted’s Michael Wilshaw praised primaries – but missed some important points

Ofsted’s Chief Inspector had positive words for primary schools in his first monthly address – but was it as genuine as it seemed? It’s difficult to judge whether Sir Michael Wilshaw’s first written monthly commentary is in praise of primary schools, as he claims, or really an attack on secondary schools. Those of us in […]

Getting maximum pupil opportunity at 14

Sir Michael Wilshaw’s CBI speech wasn’t about academic selection but about a move to high-quality vocational education being an equal status option available to all students Sir Michael Wilshaw’s speech to the Confederation of British Industry earlier this month has been heavily criticised for appearing to support “streaming” at 14, and a return to the […]

Should we care about no notice inspections?

In 2009, Ofsted trialled no notice inspections. This week they announced a second attempt. Liam Collins explains some unexpected problems of this idea. Earlier this week, when Sir Michael Wilshaw announced Ofsted would be trialling 40 no notice school inspections, I wasn’t shocked or surprised or worried. I was actually quite bored by it. The […]