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Category Archives: Accountability
Wagging the Dog
In 1992, the same year that I started my teaching degree, a new organisation was established to inspect standards in education. The national inspectorate known as Ofsted replaced the previous system of inspections, which were carried out by HMIs within … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Bold Beginnings, Children, EYFS, Ofsted
2 Comments
Joining the Dots
At the same time as testing increases and we put ever more pressure on children to achieve high academic results we see rising rates of poor mental health in young people. At the same time as schools are being put … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Behaviour, Government, Ofsted
1 Comment
Mirror Mirror
According to Damian Hinds (and various friends of the DfE) there are a handful of reasons for the slight recruitment and retention hiccup currently troubling a couple of England’s schools, and Damian has a list of handy ways to solve … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Ofsted
2 Comments
The Blame Game
When Michael Wilshaw was HMCI, he had a very bad habit of announcing his opinions in The Sunday Times. One particularly striking moment was when he called for a “Renaissance of Respect” in the nation’s schools, which first of all … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Ofsted, Testing
1 Comment
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Assessment?
“What have you got for me?” She sat down on the leather chair and put her hands on the desk. She leaned forwards slightly, but she didn’t meet their eyes. They looked nervously at each other. Who would be first … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Assessment, Parents, SATs
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And If You Tolerate This
I spent today delving into the details of the approved providers for the Reception Baseline Test (and, no, I’m not going to call them ‘assessments’ like the DfE and the approved providers all do, because they are tests). Worryingly, three providers … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Children, Testing
19 Comments
100% Attendance
We’re sat in the outpatient ward of the children’s hospital. Fortunately for us, the reason we are here is not too serious (although it does mean fairly frequent days out of school). This time round, there has been an administrative … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Children
14 Comments
Have a Little Faith
Dear Mr Hunt, Trust is at the heart of relationships. When you give someone your trust, you boost them up. You send them the message that ‘I have faith in you‘ or ‘I believe you can do this’. Sometimes you … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Government, Trust
3 Comments
Freeing the Angel 