'20 Years On' – Ofsted hits the spot

Sir Michael Wilshaw is proving a rather more radical HMCI than many had expected. He is not just pushing a Govian academies agenda, but is promoting the role of local authorities, for example. He is also demonstrating that Ofsted has a broader and deeper view than the most recent political debates. So the report 20 Years On is a significant document for several reasons, notably that it is part of the ongoing legacy of Her Majesty’s Inspectors reporting on key educational issues, and because it picks up some key issues which have been known about for years, but which have been unfashionable (or not politically correct) to mention. The report also makes proposals that are directly opposed to Govian policy – central and concerted action, rather than letting schools and academies “get on with it”. And the report evidences the fact that high-level and sustained state intervention works – again deeply anti-Govian!

So what does it say?

The efforts and investment made during the Labour government to reduce underachievement in the big cities worked. This is a real success story, and only came about because the work was sustained over a period of more than a decade – short-term fixes are just that, but the work in London and the other big cities changed the face of education in those areas.
 
Other areas such as poor coastal towns are now facing challenges often as great if not greater as those in the cities. These depressed areas have seen huge changes in their populations and local economies, and are depressed in every way: economically, educationally, and socially. Ask where the cheap bed and breakfast accommodation is located – and look at the population of (say) Southend as rent ceilings force poor families out of London.

Some poor children are being systematically failed in areas of relative affluence. It has been obvious for years that league tables and accountability measures that do not take account of context are deeply flawed. Of course we must not try to explain away failure, but it is obvious to everyone who has worked at a local level that there are schools – and academies – set in comfortable middle-class areas that are just coasting along without the sharp challenges faced by schools – and academies – in poorer areas. And it is these schools that do the least for poor children.

This is an important report and the evidence it includes should be read by all concerned on every side of politics – but I fear that it will be read too selectively. Well done, Ofsted!
 
John Freeman CBE is a former director of children's services and is now a freelance consultant