OK, it's not a new story - I recall writing about it at least four years ago - but again we have an example of 'satisfactory' has become the new 'unsatisfactory'. To be clear, the word 'satisfactory' means that the requirements have been satisfied. My quick look at an online dictionary says 'satisfactory: giving or affording satisfaction; fulfilling all demands or requirements'. The news today that 'Almost a quarter of schools are failing to do enough to keep children safe, according to the schools inspector Ofsted'. In fact, only 2% of schools were unsatisfactory - with about a quarter 'satisfactory'.
Now, I don't want to defend poor practice, or to deny the need for improvement, and continued vigilance, but the debasement of the language does not help.Ofsted, and before them HMI, was once a byword for precise, clear and comprehensible writing. No longer.
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