We stand at a critical juncture. Over the past decade, England has ascended the global education rankings with remarkable momentum. In mathematics, we have surged from 21st to 7th in the Pisa rankings. Our performance in reading on the Pirls scale now positions us as a leader in the Western world.
Just last week, a delegation of 24 Flemish ministers and journalists visited Michaela Community School, where I am headteacher, and other high-performing schools, eager to glean insights from England’s educational success. Yet, paradoxically, our own Education Secretary remains indifferent to these achievements. Bridget Phillipson did not set foot last year in any of the country’s top 87 Progress 8 schools that have demonstrated an exceptional +1 improvement. This score measures how much a pupil improves between the end of primary school and the end of secondary school. So why didn’t Phillipson want to learn from their example?
Instead, she is quietly advancing a Bill through parliament that threatens to unravel a decade’s worth of progress. But no matter how much I shout about this, no one seems to care.
The public discourse on education appears to be driven more by identity politics than by genuine concern for academic excellence. This weekend, I watched in dismay as social media erupted – not over curriculum reform or standards – but over the appointment of Sir Hamid Patel as interim Chair of Ofsted. Why is it that education only becomes a topic of interest when it intersects with race, religion, or gender?
Sir Hamid Patel is not only Muslim; he is a distinguished school leader who has been knighted for his services to British education. Under his leadership, Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School in Blackburn has consistently ranked amongst the top five schools for Progress 8 since the measure was introduced. As CEO of Star Academies, Patel has transformed the futures of thousands of children. Yet his critics choose to focus on the fact that Muslim students at his school were encouraged to recite the Quran, as though such an expectation within a faith-based institution were an aberration.
Just as I have prohibited prayer in my secular school, Hamid Patel has upheld the traditions of his Islamic schools, encouraging girls to wear the hijab. What is perhaps most absurd is the overestimation of Patel’s influence. The position of Ofsted Chair is, in reality, a largely ceremonial role, amounting to no more than two days of work per week. It is a role that satisfies bureaucratic formalities rather than wielding executive power. And yet, a single image of Patel in Islamic clerical attire circulated on Twitter, igniting a wave of hysteria. The same individuals who previously showed little interest in the state of our schools suddenly became impassioned critics.
I find myself questioning the logic of these outbursts. Patel – who will serve up to five months in the role – has no overarching control over Britain’s schools, just as I, as the headmistress of Michaela, hold no dominion over the nation’s education system. Yet he is vilified for asking Muslim students to embrace their faith, just as I have been criticised for my commitment to discipline and academic rigour. But the reality is that it is the chief inspector of Ofsted, not the chair, who holds the power over schools via the possibility of inspection.
But let us turn our attention to where the real power lies: with Bridget Phillipson, our Education Secretary. Unlike Patel, she possesses actual authority over policy and curriculum. It is she who is systematically dismantling the educational freedoms that have allowed schools like those in Star Academies to thrive. Social mobility, the very ladder that Patel and I and other school leaders of all colours strive to provide for students of all backgrounds, will be kicked away. I predict that Phillipson will dismantle the Progress 8 framework, making way for the erosion of rigorous academic subjects, to embrace the lowering of standards.
Sir Hamid Patel does right by his kids, as do I. Those in government are plotting against our successes. It is about time someone realises who the real enemy of standards is.
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