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| England faces widening skills gap, says outgoing Ofsted chief | England faces widening skills gap, says outgoing Ofsted chief |
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| Sir Michael Wilshaw, the outgoing chief inspector of schools in England, warned that the country faces a widening “skills gap” that threatens its economic prosperity. | Sir Michael Wilshaw, the outgoing chief inspector of schools in England, warned that the country faces a widening “skills gap” that threatens its economic prosperity. |
| Wilshaw said that while schools continued to improve – with 90% of primaries and 78% of secondaries rated good or outstanding – there were worrying signs over teacher shortages and in further education for young adults. | Wilshaw said that while schools continued to improve – with 90% of primaries and 78% of secondaries rated good or outstanding – there were worrying signs over teacher shortages and in further education for young adults. |
| “The country is facing serious knowledge and skills gaps that threaten the competitiveness of our economy,” Wilshaw said, in unveiling Ofsted’s 2015-16 annual report. | “The country is facing serious knowledge and skills gaps that threaten the competitiveness of our economy,” Wilshaw said, in unveiling Ofsted’s 2015-16 annual report. |
| “The decision to leave the European Union has thrown this issue into even sharper relief. As a nation, we can either intervene to inject the system with the vision, skills and energy it needs, or we can be content with the status quo and the consequences of our failure to improve the quality and status of technical education over many years.” | “The decision to leave the European Union has thrown this issue into even sharper relief. As a nation, we can either intervene to inject the system with the vision, skills and energy it needs, or we can be content with the status quo and the consequences of our failure to improve the quality and status of technical education over many years.” |
| The proportion of further education colleges rated as good or better had declined from 77% to 71% over the course of the year. | The proportion of further education colleges rated as good or better had declined from 77% to 71% over the course of the year. |
| “Many further education colleges are facing a period of continued turmoil while the quality of apprenticeship programmes remains patchy,” Wilshaw said. | “Many further education colleges are facing a period of continued turmoil while the quality of apprenticeship programmes remains patchy,” Wilshaw said. |
| Wilshaw noted that 1.8 million more children were now attending good or outstanding schools in England compared with August 2010, saying there had been “significant improvements even over the five years that I have been chief inspector”. | Wilshaw noted that 1.8 million more children were now attending good or outstanding schools in England compared with August 2010, saying there had been “significant improvements even over the five years that I have been chief inspector”. |
| “Our schools have also become great forces for social cohesion. We forget what an incredible achievement this is. Whatever cultural tensions exist outside of school, race and religion are not barriers within them,” said Wilshaw , whose term at Ofsted included the Trojan Horse scandal over religious influence in schools in Birmingham. | “Our schools have also become great forces for social cohesion. We forget what an incredible achievement this is. Whatever cultural tensions exist outside of school, race and religion are not barriers within them,” said Wilshaw , whose term at Ofsted included the Trojan Horse scandal over religious influence in schools in Birmingham. |
| Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said: “The chief inspector is right to send a clear warning about the government’s obsession with further structural changes as being the way to raise standards for pupils. | |
| “What matters is creating the conditions in which teachers can focus on teaching and learning, without unnecessary and wasteful distractions.” | |
| Ahead of the publication of the report Wilshaw highlighted the continuing geographical divide in education, with schools in the north and east Midlands continuing to lag behind those in London and the south. | |
| He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that the failure to improve schools in some areas may have contributed to the feeling of alienation and a sense of a “divided nation” that was exposed by the referendum vote to leave the EU earlier this year. | |
| Commenting on a report based on documents leaked to the BBC showing that the Home Office wanted to “deprioritise” the children of parents unlawfully in the UK for school places, Wilshaw said: “I’m amazed and shocked by it. Schools should not be used for border control.” | |
| Wilshaw said that although there were improvements, some secondary schools were still struggling. Because of the geographical divide in educational standards, parents in Manchester, Liverpool and towns in the north of England were less likely to see their children get a good job or go on to university than those in London, he said. | |
| One in three schools in Manchester and almost 50% in Liverpool were “not good”, and the inequality of provision was “feeding into a wider malaise” and a “sense of alienation” that people were feeling in parts of the country, he added. |