I was interested to read the views of Chris Woodhead, the chief inspector, on the adequacy of schools’ financial management and even more interested to read what a spokeswoman for the Office for Standards in Education told my local paper.
She said: “Mr Woodhead recognises that there are schools that manage their budgets well” but added: “In about half of secondary schools visited, financial decision-making is poor.”
This was news to me. I had thought until now that a mere one in 14 schools was poor in terms of “efficiency” and “value for money”. I gleaned these apparently erroneous impressions by reading the Chief Inspector’s latest annual report.
Which story coming out of OFSTED am I to believe? The one laid before Parliament three months ago, or the one told to the Cambridge Evening News last week?
Professor John Gray Director of research Homerton College Cambridge
