New Ofsted head calls for new network of education commissioners

The incoming chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw, has proposed the creation of a network of local education commissioners to monitor school performance and identify failing schools and teachers.

In an interview with the Times newspaper, published on 28th December, Sir Michael said that the job of identifying failing schools was too much for Ofsted alone and that the new commissioners should have the power to strip underperforming Academy schools of their status or dismiss headteachers and governing bodies if they failed to maintain standards

“It is no good just relying on Ofsted to give the judgment. By that time it is too late,” he said. “We need some sort of intermediary bodies which can detect when things aren’t going well, look at the data and have their ear very close to the ground to determine when there is a certain issue.”

The commissioners, Sir Michael added, would report to the Secretary of State rather than local authorities, “These people would be non-political,” he said. “The job of the commissioner would be to meet the managing directors, the chief executives of those clusters, report to him or her on the performance of the group. And the commissioner would then make a judgment on whether a school needs to be improved, report to the Secretary of State and then bring in other agencies to improve those schools or not.”

The Times reported that the Department for Education “welcomed” Sir Michael's comments, but did not confirm whether it would take his recommendations forward. The Local Government Association (LGA), however, said that it would oppose any proposals to add a further layer of scrutiny to schools.

LGA board member for education, David Simmonds, told the Times: “There is a clear statutory responsibility that is discharged by directors of children’s services and lead members of children’s services with regard to schools and education and their local accountability.

“It is hard to see how a separate layer of Whitehall bureaucracy would add significant value to that because this role of accountability is one which councils already discharge.”

Sir Michael, the former head of the Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney, officially takes up his new role as chief inspector of schools in January.