Mediocre is the state of play with academy chains

Out of the 900 or so academy chains in England there are only half a dozen which deserve to be called 'good'  Ofsted's chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw declares

Ironic, is it not, that before any inspection happens schools rally to present the best version of themselves. Yet no amount of ducking and diving can change the reality of the situation

UK scores for 15 year olds in Maths, Reading and Science is mediocre again when compared to other developed countries, and, when it comes to other unmeasured disciplines, we are probably fairing even worse

In a recent TES speech Sir Michael says we need more maverick teachers and school leaders:

“When we looked at these seven failing [academy chains], they had what I called a Walmart philosophy,” Sir Michael said. “You know, pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap. It was empire building rather than having the capacity to improve these schools.”

Too right that we need some kind of maverick philosophy applied to education. The NHS would benefit from it too. Mismanagement with somewhat two-dimensional thinking is fast becoming the downfall for many of our institutions 

Remember too, we have all received a version of that same kind of mediocre education of which Sir Michael talks about, so the mavericks out there need to find a way of scooting around the rigidness and prejudices of recruitment policies, and, if they indeed manage to and get in positions where they are able to do some radical reforming, then their first job is to throw out anyone who is in it for themselves. That'd be a start