Back to the future with field forces!

There was a near-unanimous sigh of relief among directors when the Coalition Government announced the disbandment of the hydra-headed 'field forces'. Certainly too much of my time, and that of my colleagaues, was spent in preparing for and meeting apparatchiks from Sanctuary Buildings with their own specific agendas and little local engagement. At best they were neutral experiences, and at worst confrontational and difficult. I should say that this was not about defensiveness for poor standards, we were always willing to talk about how to improve, and willing to accept sensible challenge. But one of the major 'wins' of moving out of intervention in 2002 was the reduced engagement with DfE advisers. So it was with some resignation that I saw that the Secretary of State is now sending round 'advisers' to work with local authorities on raising standards in schools below the new floor targets. I just hope, for the sanity of serving collegaues, that the advisers will be sent with a brief that reflects 'working with' rather than 'doing to' or even 'doing over'. And I will be interested to see if the 'new' advisers are the 'old' advisers rebadged ...