Sir Michael Wilshaw: ‘Smear campaign against Ofsted is no surprise’

Chief inspector of schools hits back at ‘attempts to undermine watchdog’s independence’ after Department of Education leak

Sir Michael Wilshaw has hit back against “smears” over his performance as chief inspector of Ofsted, a day after it emerged via a leaked document that Michael Gove had considered unseating him.

The chief inspector of schools, a former headteacher, labelled the leak an attempt to undermine Ofsted’s independence and insisted he will not be swayed from criticising government policies such as free schools.

Wilshaw said: “The document leaked to the Guardian comes as no surprise to me. Indeed, I raised my concerns publicly about plots and smear campaigns against Ofsted and me personally by political advisers back in January.”

“I am in good company. The prime minister and deputy prime minister have also come under fire from one particular former adviser to Michael Gove,” Wilshaw said, in a reference to Gove’s former special adviser Dominic Cummings.

An internal Department for Education memo leaked to the Guardian on Thursday contained strong criticisms of Wilshaw’s tenure as head of the schools regulator. In the document, dated October 2013 and circulated to senior officials, Cummings said that he and schools minister Lord Nash had “serious concerns” about Ofsted’s operation.  Michael Gove at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham. Photograph: Rupert Hartley/Rex/Rupert Hartley/Rex

The memo argued that Wilshaw needed to be supported by a chief operating officer at the least, because he spent too much time giving interviews rather than running the organisation.

Cummings was a key figure behind many of the reforms introduced by Gove, including free schools.

Wilshaw said: “I didn’t come into this role to curry favour with particular vested interests. I took on this job with one single ambition: to improve the life chances of all children in this country.”

It is not the first time the chief inspector has complained about being undermined. Earlier this year, Wilshaw said he was “spitting blood” over what he saw as DfE attempts to sabotage him, when the Labour peer Sally Morgan was not reappointed as Ofsted chair and two thinktanks announced investigations into Ofsted.

David Laws, the Liberal Democrat schools minister, also came to Wilshaw’s defence.

“It’s crucial that Ofsted acts as a strong and fair educational watchdog, not as the Department for Education’s poodle. Sir Michael Wilshaw is doing a good job and successfully resisting pressure from some on the right who seem to want him to give their favourite schools an easy ride,” Laws said.

“The job of the chief inspector is to hold all schools to account, without fear or favour, and bullying from politicians or former advisers can only make that job more difficult.” 
Tristram Hunt, Labour’s shadow education secretary, appears set on raising the attacks on Wilshaw in parliament – most likely during the next education question time involving Gove’s successor, Nicky Morgan – after he described the memo as part of a “systematic attempt to undermine Ofsted”.

“The press briefings against Sir Michael Wilshaw, the sacking of Sally Morgan and this revelation: the evidence is now unequivocal. It’s totally unacceptable and ministers should come to the House of Commons to explain to parliament the actions of this government,” he said.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, which represents many headteachers, said: “Ofsted is and must remain an independent body. The recently reported personal attacks on the chief inspector have no place in the professional discussion that needs to take place as Ofsted consults over its future.”

Wilshaw also made clear that he was not going to give way over applying Ofsted’s inspection regime to free schools and academies.

“As England’s schools system becomes increasingly autonomous and fragmented, robust and independent inspection is more important than ever. Ofsted must be able to hold every institution to account without fear or favour.

“I will not allow Ofsted to be politicised and I will not be swayed from making the difficult decisions that are sometimes necessary to raise standards in our country. Nor will I be deterred from shining a spotlight on poor performance, whether in academy chains, free schools or local authority schools, no matter how uncomfortable this may be for some people.”

Wilshaw admitted that while Ofsted was not perfect, it was still “a force for good” in England’s education system.

“Her Majesty’s inspectors have worked with teachers and headteachers in previously underperforming schools to give thousands more children the opportunity to be educated in a good school,” Wilshaw said.

“But we don’t stand still. Only yesterday, I launched a consultation on radical changes to education inspection designed to ensure the improvements in standards over recent years are maintained. I also confirmed that we will be carrying out many more unannounced school inspections where we have concerns about declining standards, poor leadership, behaviour or the safety of children. “I am also ending outsourcing arrangements for inspections from September 2015. This will give us more direct control over the selection and training of inspectors, many of whom are now successful leaders from good and outstanding schools – the largest number in Ofsted’s history.

Tweet