Nicky Morgan considering hiring US anti-union free school prick to head OFSTED

[Orang Utan]

Nicky Morgan considers US chief of anti-union free school network to run Ofsted

 

[J Ed]

Don't we have enough homegrown anti-union ignorant corporate thugs?

 

[ViolentPanda]

I'm wondering whether Morgan is doing this based on the Woodhead experience - hire a reactionary twat, and use him to provide the basis for a load of changes in schools.

 

[wtfftw]

Tory way innit. Choose the most inappropriate person for every single role ever.

:insertswears:

 

[stavros]

Have any of the three big teachers unions held a ballot on their confidence in Morgan, as they did with Gove?

 

[1%er]

Could it be that Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) is the problem and not the solution?

Nearly one-fifth of 16 to 19-year-olds have a reading age at or below 11, 17% are functionally illiterate, meaning they cannot handle much more than straightforward questions and their maths skills are limited to little more than basic arithmetic putting the UK at a higher rate of innumeracy than many other industrialised countries.
From here Teaching times (Interestingly the article has a mistake that doesn't appear to have been picked up in the 3rd paragraph "functionallly illiterate").

Around 16 per cent or 5.2 million adults in England, can be described as "functionally illiterate". They would not pass an English GCSE and have literacy levels at or below those expected of an 11-year-old, that figure includes 1.1million adults in the UK who have the level expected of a 5 to 7 year old.
From here 2011 figures (literacy trust)

 

[Greasy Boiler]

Been reading about him and his 'KIPP' thing:

When Levin first hit on the idea of a character report card in 2007, he envisioned that students would eventually graduate with both a GPA and a CPA, or character point average. In Levin’s conception, the CPA would be a valuable tool for admissions officers and corporate human resources managers who would be delighted to know which applicants had scored highest on items such as grit, optimism, and zest.

good god.

 

[likesfish]

Maybe it's both?
Ofstead failing to do its job.
The education system massively failing the bottom 20%

 

[notabanana]

Ofsted need a kick up the arse.

 

[StoneRoad]

h'actually, what the UK education system needs, is less (a lot less) interference from pollytikians (and religion !) ...

 

[sim667]

The education system massively failing the bottom 20%

When a system revolves around league tables, then the bottom will always be failed.

Its worse in FE, they just change failing grades to passing ones, and hoped they don't get invidulated. This happened to me more than once, and I was overruled by those in management.

 

[Cid]

h'actually, what the UK education system needs, is less (a lot less) interference from pollytikians (and religion !) ...

Anarcho-syndicalist teachers' union time I think.

 

[chilango]

Anarcho-syndicalist teachers' union time I think.

Here you go....

 

[Louis MacNeice]

Don't we have enough homegrown anti-union ignorant corporate thugs?

There was a great quote on the news as to why the US was being looked to. It went along the lines that they had the experience of charter schools and dealing with the demands of teaching unions.

The rationale seems to be that the charter schools are seen as being broadly analogous to the UK academy schools. And that the outgoing head of Ofsted (head of the first UK academy I believe) was not seen as sufficiently up on the anti-union game.

The bottom line is that Ofsted has somehow slipped off message and needs to be brought back in line with some new leadership.

What this has to do with the experience of children and young people in state education isn't at all clear; but perhaps I'm missing the point.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice

 

[Orang Utan]

the outgoing head of Ofsted (head of the first UK academy I believe)

Wilshaw was head of one of the highest performing academies, Mossbourne, but not the first.

 

[SpookyFrank]

What this has to do with the experience of children and young people in state education isn't at all clear; but perhaps I'm missing the point.

It's all just political fuckery. Children don't enter into it, any more than sick people enter into tory plans for privatistion of the NHS.

 

[likesfish]

some charter schools work well but it really depends on who runs it others not so much like free schools Brighton University won the right to run one in Brighton which at least montessori and the mega church missed out
For some reason Teachers are really really difficult to sack in the US but schools rely on really local budgets and real shady shit goes on with local funding for schools.

 

[Louis MacNeice]

Wilshaw was head of one of the highest performing academies, Mossbourne, but not the first.

Thanks OU. I wasn't sure that I'd remembered that bit correctly.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice

 

[killer b]

Ofstead failing to do its job.

What do you think Ofsted's job is?

As a method of ensuring compliance with govt. policy, it does it's job very well indeed. Which is it's only job.

 

[likesfish]

About - Ofsted - GOV.UK

how I wish governments had to show their working for policies or policy ideas

 

[J Ed]

For some reason Teachers are really really difficult to sack in the US but schools

In many states teachers aren't even guaranteed a contract for longer than a year.

 

[redsquirrel]

For some reason Teachers are really really difficult to sack in the US

How dreadful! People actually having some proper job security, we can't have that in 2015 can we.

EDIT: Not of course that you've provided any evidence that your assertion is true.

 

[friedaweed]

What's the difference between an OFSTED inspector and a plastic surgeon?

One tucks up your features and the other...

 

[Combustible]

In many states teachers aren't even guaranteed a contract for longer than a year.

The contract length doesn't even matter in most cases because in the vast majority of states employees can be fired "at will" for no reason.