Two think tanks, Policy Exchange and Civitas, have criticised Ofsted…..apparently that is not allowed.
The boss of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, said he was ‘spitting blood’ about the ‘attacks’…he claims the ‘attack dogs’ were set on him by Michael Gove.
Apparently Sir Michael Wilshaw believes he is above criticism.
The BBC seems to agree…at least when it is from ‘Right leaning’ think tanks…or ‘rightwing’ think tanks as they described them on Today this morning.
They are happy to repeat the very political choice of words used…using ‘attack’ in the headline instead of ‘criticism’…which gives the impression of a determined attempt to undermine Ofsted and to destroy it.
Sir Michael Wilshaw ‘spitting blood’ over Ofsted attack
Wilshaw is the one doing the ‘attacking’ with intemperate language and ill-judged refusal to accept criticism….all seemingly backed up by the BBC.
The categorisation of the criticism as ‘rightwing’ clearly demonstrates the intent to discredit the source and label the criticism as purely ideological rather based on any substance.
However…..from the ‘leftwing’ Demos:
School inspections deeply toxic, thinktank says
Demos report recommends schools collect views of teachers, students and parents instead of using Ofsted inspectors
Teachers call for Ofsted chief to resign
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has called for the resignation of Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw over claims he is demoralising teachers.
Ofsted inspections ‘unsatisfactory’ for infants & toddlers
Ofsted chided for poor child-care judgements
No sign of the political nature of the LibDems support for Sally Morgan and Ofsted in this BBC report:
Ofsted should inspect academy chains – Lib Dems
The removal of Sally Morgan was politically motivated?…but Laws defence of her wasn’t? You wouldn’t know there was an election coming.
You may notice that everything the Tories do now is categorised as ‘electioneering’ whilst Labour and the LibDems usually manage to avoid such labeling…especially by the BBC’s Chris Mason.
and…It seems if you are a ‘leftwing’ thnk tank criticism of Ofsted is permissible and justified…if you are a ‘rightwing’ think tank it isn’t.
The BBC ‘poisoning the well of democratic debate’? You could say so…though John Humphrys claims it isn’t:
‘Today is not at war with the government of the day, even if it sometimes feels a bit like that.’
He also adds a little self interested plea at the end:
‘The more commercial competition and digital channels there are, the more important a truly independent and properly funded BBC news operation becomes.
We lose sight of that at our peril.’
You have to laugh…..there is no station more biased and more ‘big brother’ in how it controls and manipulates the news in order to control the Public’s opinions and view of the world than the BBC….all the more so because it does it whilst pretending not to.
We know where the Sun or Fox News or the Mirror or Guardian stand on most issues….but the BBC?
The BBC lives on its ‘past glories’, its inherited reputation for truthful and accurate reporting, it uses its everyday programming to encourage a feeling of trust and affection for the organisation…and transfers that trust generated by other programmes onto its news output.
How can you doubt any organisation that has David Attenborough as a leading man?
Separate out of the news side from the programming and things might start to look a bit different and viewers might start to be a bit more sceptical about the BBC’s news output, should it still be called the ‘BBC’.
BBC website is ‘destroying’ local newspapers and harming democracy, warns Home Secretary Theresa May
The more commercial competition and digital channels there are, the more important a truly independent and properly funded BBC news operation becomes.
Perhaps Mr Humphrys can point me to the commercial competition I can find on my car radio if I want a news programme when driving to and from work? It strikes me he’s frightened of any competition.
He’s 71 this year. About time he was ‘let go’. How about a well-educated, fluent Eastern European guy take his place, half the salary, let the BBC show it is in line with the rest of the workforce who have had to adapt, against their wishes, to Labours grand plan……….
The model is staring us in the face. Take the toxic parts of the bBC and set it up….like the separate toxic part of the banks.
This toxic part can be converted to a subscription model.
The good part, Top Gear, the Danish and Swedish women on BBC4 etc. could form the good part. Say £50 per annum licence. We all get £100 in our pockets.
The BBC is fiercely protective of its near monopoly provided by the state through its outdated funding arrangements. But it does fear any other source of news and current affairs because they might begin to show the British public the other side of so many stories, and bring into question the BBC claims to be impartial and not a campaigning organisation. Consequently it does everything it can to deny the the British public access to the plurality of view and debate that is the essential bedrock of a healthy democracy eg the unceasing attack on Murdoch and what I anticipate will be its attempt to grab control of content being distributed by new technology.
If a significant proportion of the British people got their news from an unbiased source, or from right of centre sources which clearly stated their political viewpoint, then the BBC would be in deep trouble, because everyone would see how biased to the left the BBC really is, and how far from its Charter it has strayed. This would give rise to an unstoppable campaign to remove its state funded monopoly.
If a Tory government was brave enough to use even a small proportion of the License Fee to fund some commercial news and current affairs rivals to the BBC it would be the beginning of the end of the BBC. Alternatively, denying the BBC access and domination of new technology will bring about its demise within 10 to 20 years. But of course Labour will be keen for the BBC to dominate all future ways of distributing content and continuing the leftist bias.So if they win the next election we can expect legislation to ensure the BBC gain control over new technology content and distribution.
I have a feeling that the process of abolishing the broadcasting licence fee is already underway, a licence for the press was abolished hundreds of years ago, and Australia and New Zealand have recently abolished the socialist/authoritarian broadcasting licence fee idea, for the more free media ideas of Canada and the US.
The BBC’s moronic and authoritarian Climate Change policy seems to be the issue that has stirred up realisation of BBC bias within British Mensa, as members who have complained to the BBC are now delivering information to the Media, Culture and Sport Select Committee, lead by Mensa member John Whittingdale who also studied Astronomy at university.
So I think that there is going to be a gradual realisation within the BBC bubble, that the days are numbered, and the end of this BBC socialist fantasy world comes in 2016, in the same way as all socialist/hypocritical dreams end.
I bet the end will not dawn if Labour are in power. The BBC is much to valuable asset to them to allow it’s demise.
If Mr Gove is causing grief amongst the socialists, particularly in education, then he must be doing something right. As far as Grammar Schools are concerned, they were and are the best form of education for our children; I know for certain that they are not populated by rich kids. Rather, they give poor and poorer kids a chance to mix with children from middle income homes and best of all, poorer kids a chance to perform to their best abilities in an environment that supports success. Shame on all those of all parties who have conspired to destroy Grammar School education.
“If Mr Gove is causing grief amongst the socialists, particularly in education, then he must be doing something right.”
I have it on good authority that many teachers are foaming at the mouth in a common room in Plumstead.
Good.
One way to shake up the BBC, is to use the time honoured tactic of “modernisation”. The “modernisation” tactic in this instance would be to use two primary reasons.
1. In these times of austerity, it is necessary to streamline the BBC to get more effective use of taxpayers money.
2. An information revolution is ongoing, where the public has access to a greater variety of information outlets. The BBC has to be modernised, its management structure, news and views, to reflect the greater variety in society, as well as information outlets.
Under these two guises, one can do virtually anything. The conservatives are the only ones who can do this. In fact, for their very political survival, as well as offering the public a choice of sorts, it is absolutely necessary.
Any opposition from BBC apparatchiks can be dismissed as Luddite, resistant to change, old fashioned, or whatever comes to mind.
Surely by now, even the conservatives should know, that the BBC is ideologically and politically part of Labour. As such, I find it difficult to understand why the Conservatives have not taken the axe to the BBC.
Graham Brady, Conservative MP for Altrincham and Sale West, is a passionate supporter of grammar schools. Despite being Chairman of the 1922 Committee and thus spokesman for backbench Conservative MPs, he is almost never heard on the bBBC. No prizes for guessing why.
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics/2012/08/graham-brady-i-owe-my-career-grammar-school
http://www.grahambradymp.co.uk/news/graham-brady-sir-michael-wilshaws-intervention-grammar-schools-was-unwise
http://www.altrinchamandsaleconservatives.org.uk/news/graham-brady-mp-grammar-schools-daily-mail
http://s477308942.websitehome.co.uk/parliament/2012/08/graham-brady-casts-back-to-the-grammar-schools-row.html
I hope that Ofsted continues to ‘terrorise’ schools for many years to come! Why should the leftards infesting our education system go unmonitored?
If only Theresa May had the courage to back up her criticism of the BBC with action.
To continue to discuss education to the liberal agenda( also the BBC’s ) is a waste of time.
Selection by ability is necessary if we are to compete with the rest of the world particularly East Asia.
It is pointless to argue otherwise and the contortions of Gove and the Conservatives over this is amusing were it not so stupid.
Anything other than face reality.
The liberals can be disregarded. They have long since abandoned reality in favour of social engineering that is without logic or merit.
The present Tory party leadership is a lost cause. Yet another reason to hope for it’s swift end.
Cameron has been a huge disappointment to the nation – almost as predicted by the News broadsheets (and the BBC) none could have presumed he would go wobbly liberal to appease the BBC, as if they cared. It’s pretty obvious that even Liberals have totally lost the next election so a ‘tie-up’ with ‘failed’ Labour is their only option left. The BBC know they are ‘safe’ with Labour ‘maoist’ school of education policies – only alleviated by the chronic Labour hypocrisy of ‘going private for their own esteemed education’ (as Suzi Leather ably demonstrated not uniquely either) whilst imposing (and closing) any school of benefit for those bright and able from less advantaged backgrounds. Not all working class voters ‘think’ Karl Marx was a local hero. No doubt Grammars will be abolished under Labour and any chance of a better (state) education with it. If that is not Marxist doctrine then surely Maoist universal sufferance.
I’d like to see Michael Gove in the Home Office in a Con/UKIP coalition after the election, with a plan to dismantle the bbc.
This one has crewed the lefty unions hasn`t it?
Deafening lack of support for OFSTED from the usual sources like the ATL, NUT.
They hate Gove because he has his golf buggy on their killing fields of State sacrifice of children, just so Crosland and Owen Jones can be referenced and sleep well at night..
But they hate OFSTED too…but haven` the balls to slough them off. For Woodhead was a continuing Labour appointment in 1997…and Blair and Labour threw shedloads of money at their union chums.
OFSTED are nearly always failed heads on permanent secondment because their own schools are flops. Eunuchs in other schools harems and simply unable to apply any good practice to all but their own self-abuse.
Still-if they put the wind up the conspiracy of lefty dunces who`ve been allowed to grow like knotweed since the 60s…then they might have a role…but nothing a well-trained Staffie on a rope couldn`t do cheaper-and with more intelligence.
God here, just dropping by to see if Alan is still the sole writer. And he is. Such a waste. Can Vance not attract ONE real person to write here?
Suppose nobody wants the consequences of being associated with Vance. But as I said to Nick at out last meeting, Alan will serve as a loyal but anonymous stoker for many years ahead…in fact eternity.