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Have long argued that the slowly-growing professional revolt over Ofsted ( #PauseOfsted etc) was a channelled version of Brexity frustrations applied to the structural inequalities of education
Brexit, more than anything, was a cry of the provinces, fuelled by the feeing they had been left behind, had no agency in addressing their problems, were not listened to by the 'smart set', and were judged by a class and a system they (in the end) just wanted to overthrow
You might disagree that Brexit would achieve this, but that's not really the point - the key point is these feelings were real and significant enough that folk felt the best option they had was to use their moment of empowerment to press reset - to 'take back control'
Lingering under all this was the feeling that policy was driven by London, that policy makers didnt know much of what happened beyond the capital and cared lesd, and that we were all made to dance to a Londoncentric tune, regardless of on-the-ground context and the impact locally
Now switch back to education, and in particular Ofsted and the accountability system more generally. The kickback here, which intensified particularly after the new framework was brought in, shared many of these same characteristics.
The feeling from the provinces, where a lit of the kickback cane from, who had nothing like the investment and infrastructure of London, were nonetheless compared against it and then criticised, indeed blamed, for not delivering the same outcomes
The feeling amongst our most deprived areas, especially in the provinces, that the inspection process was biased against them, put together people far away, who knew little of the contexts they were passing a judgement on, and seened to care even less
The feeling of the provinces of being voiceless, of not being listened to, of not bring on the panels or in the meeting rooms, but instead just being lectured to by a snart set operating in radically different contexts whilst wagging a finger at everyone else
And always, of course, the feeling it was delivered with a sanctimonious sneer - the usual attack lines reinforcing this view, dissent greeted with quips about the 'soft bigotry of low expectations', how dare you challenge us, we clearly care about poor kids more than you etc.
In that context, an exhausted, frustrated, judged, voiceless cohort, particularly congregated in the 'left behind' regions, faced with systemic inequality and with no outlet to change it, decided they too wanted to change things - to 'take back control'.
The new franework - with its heavily liberal, urban, middle-class bias - became something of a tipping point, and powerful critiques of Ofsted and its corrosive impact started to emerge. Being honest, Ofsted has taken a huge credibility hit and I'm not sure it will recover
But what's really interesting is what happens next. Brexit opened the pressure valve on lots of debates, and C19 has relegated it to the comparative margins. One wonders if Ofsted's current hiatus will do the same... or embolden opponents for fundamental reform to accountability
Only thing I'd say is, if it turns out to be the latter, then we must learn from the Brexit process and be sure to know what victory looks like - 'taking back control' must have an accompanying idea of what exactly we wish to achieve in having it
Finally: I really must get better at a) typing on a phone b) proofreading my tweets
