RSC’s role unclear and relationship with Ofsted a bit tense, says Sir Michael Wilshaw
Sir Michael Wilshaw says the role of Regional Schools Commissioners is “not clear” and their relationship with the schools inspectorate is “a bit tense”.
Giving evidence on the purpose and quality of education to the Education Select Committee on Wednesday, Sir Michael Wilshaw expressed frustration at the lack of clarity around what an RSC’s objectives are: “I’m not clear what the RSCs do other than re-broker failing academies”, adding that the relationships between the commissioners and Ofsted are sometimes “a bit tense”.
“Sometimes relationships are a bit tense because we believe RSCs should be doing more with underperforming academies, not just those ones which fail, and that’s going to be a key issue once the bill goes through parliament on coasting schools.
“For example, in Cambridgeshire, where practically all academies are either inadequate or requiring improvement, I know my regional director had a pretty tense conversation with the RSC about what are you going to do about these underperforming academies, the ones that will fail unless you intervene quickly.”
He also admitted that he wonders whether parents can identify with “faceless RSCs who cover great swathes of the country”.
An inquiry into the role of RSCs in January found that while they are a “pragmatic approach” to the expanding workload of academies, the Education Select Committee report stated that transparency remained a concern.
At the time, Sir Michael Wilshaw expressed his disappointment that the regions covered by RSCs and those covered by Ofsted are not coterminous. This was reiterated whilst giving evidence in front of the Education Select Committee on Wednesday.
During the session, Sir Michael Wilshaw also responded to speculation that his successor could potentially be recruited from the US, admitting that their system is not as good as in the UK and that there are plenty of good national candidates.
Careers education was also discussed, and the Chief Inspector suggested that it has never been good enough due to it not holding the status it deserves in too many schools.
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