Two years ago, former chief inspector Chris Woodhead named and shamed two ex-pupils, claiming they had left him feeling demoralised and a failure in his final days as an English secondary teacher in the 1970s. When The TES tracked down the hapless duo, one could not remember Mr Woodhead, while the other thought he was her maths teacher.
How times change. Writing in today’s TES (Friday magazine, p7), the current chief inspector David Bell fondly remembers an inspirational class he taught as a deputy head 18 years ago. And, as our news story shows (p6), his pupils remember him with equal warmth. These different attitudes may simply reflect Mr Bell’s experience as a primary teacher and the advantage of teaching the same class for a year or more. But it also shows the new head of the Office for Standards in Education is a passionate teacher who knows how to connect with children. Progress indeed.
