Chris Woodhead
Encyclopedia
Sir Christopher Anthony Woodhead (born 20 October 1946, Edmonton
, London
) was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England from 1994 until 2000 and is one of the most controversial figures in debates on the direction of English
education policy. He is currently the Chairman of Cognita
, a company dedicated to fostering private education.
Road in South Croydon
, then Wallington County Grammar School
in Surrey
, where he was caned twice. A graduate of English from the University of Bristol
where he gained a PGCE
.
in Shrewsbury
from 1969–72 and Newent Community School
from 1972-4) before moving into teacher education. He has an MA
from the University of Keele.
He became a lecturer at the University of Oxford
and held a number of posts in education development, including Deputy Chief Education Officer in Devon
(from 1988–90), as well as posts in Shropshire
and Cornwall
(from 1990-1). From 1991-3 he was Chief Executive of the National Curriculum Council, and also of the SCAA from 1993-4 (the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority later replaced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
) which replaced the National Curriculum Council and the School Examinations and Assessment Council from 1 October 1993.
(OFSTED), the schools inspection service, in 1994.
Woodhead is particularly associated with support for "traditional teaching methods" and for taking a scornful view of "progressive educational theories" introduced into English schools from the 1960s onwards. Supporters claimed that Woodhead was a radical reformer willing to tackle the failings of the education system and only encountering the defensiveness of the educational establishment. Critics argued that he was generating poor morale, rarely identified successes in schools, and that the "progressive teaching" he attacked was a straw man
, with little resemblance to actual classroom practices. Woodhead most prominently identified weaknesses in schools with poor teaching and repeatedly asserted this view. Amongst his controversial remarks he claimed there were "15,000 incompetent teachers" and "I am paid to challenge mediocrity, failure and complacency". His blunt approach gained him many enemies, especially in the teaching profession.
When the Labour
government came to power in 1997 there was much political pressure to replace Woodhead, either immediately or when his initial term expired in 1998, but instead he was retained and his appointment renewed by Education Secretary
David Blunkett
. In 1999 Woodhead came under immense pressure to resign when it was claimed by his ex-wife Cathy Woodhead (they divorced in 1977) that whilst working as a teacher he had had an affair with a pupil, Amanda Johnston. His version of events is also hotly disputed by some former colleagues. However Woodhead stood firm with the support of Blunkett. Woodhead and Johnston insisted that although they had met while he was her teacher, the relationship (which lasted for nine years) had only developed several years later in Oxford after they had both left the Gordano School
, near Bristol. He was Head of English at the school from 1974-6. In February 1999 Woodhead addressed an audience of trainee teachers and was asked for his views on legislation to ban sexual relationships between pupils and teachers. His response was that such relationships, while regrettable, could be "experiential and educative on both sides", a remark for which he later apologised.
In February 2005, The Guardian
obtained information using the Freedom of Information Act, which confirmed that in 1997 Woodhead had overruled a unanimous decision by his own inspectors, and a subsequent inspection visit by HMI inspectors, in order to declare that Islington Green School
was failing and required special measures. According to the head of the school at the time, "the consequences for staff and pupils were catastrophic". Despite Woodhead's enthusiasm for evidence-based inspection, he has never made public the reasons for this decision.
newspapers. Subsequently he stated that he felt the school-inspection system was now in a strong position and that he "felt unable to defend some aspects of government policy." In 2002 Class War: The State of British Education, a damning verdict on the systemic failures of British education, was published. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed a Professor of Education at the University of Buckingham
. He continues to speak out in public on many issues relating to education at both school and university level, often provoking great controversy.
In 2004 Woodhead became chairmain of Cognita
, a company that owns and runs independent schools. In May 2009 his second book, A Desolation of Learning: Is this the education our children deserve?, a critical examination of the almost two decades of education policy and reforming initiative, was published. Throughout the years Woodhead has consistently objected to David Blunkett and his cabinet on the way in which English schools have now been governed.
He is on the Advisory Council of Reform
.
in the 2011 Birthday Honours
for services to education.
Woodhead enjoys running and rock climbing. In 2006 he was diagnosed with the fatal neurodegenerative condition motor neurone disease
. In an interview with The Sunday Times published on 3 May 2009, he stated publicly that he would prefer to end his own life than suffer the indignities of the final stages of the disease; in an interview he stated, "The truth is that I would be more likely to drive myself in a wheel-chair off a cliff in Cornwall than go to Dignitas
and speak to a bearded social worker about my future."
Edmonton, London
Edmonton is an area in the east of the London Borough of Enfield, England, north-north-east of Charing Cross. It has a long history as a settlement distinct from Enfield.-Location:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England from 1994 until 2000 and is one of the most controversial figures in debates on the direction of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
education policy. He is currently the Chairman of Cognita
Cognita
Cognita is a private company which owns and operates independent schools throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, Cognita operates a number of international schools in Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam...
, a company dedicated to fostering private education.
Early life
His father was an accountant, and his mother a school secretary, and he had no brothers or sisters. He went to Selsdon Primary School on AddingtonAddington, London
Addington is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south south-east of Charing Cross.-History:...
Road in South Croydon
South Croydon
South Croydon is a locality in Greater London, the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon about 1 km in radius, centred on the Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is part of the South Croydon post town and in the London Borough of Croydon...
, then Wallington County Grammar School
Wallington County Grammar School
Wallington County Grammar School is a state-funded boys' grammar school located in Wallington, Sutton, London. Places at the school are invariably oversubscribed and entrance is via competitive exam...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, where he was caned twice. A graduate of English from the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
where he gained a PGCE
Postgraduate Certificate in Education
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education is a one-year course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for undergraduate degree holders that allows them to train to be a teacher....
.
Early career
Woodhead briefly worked as an English teacher at Wallington County Grammar School for Boys and two other state schools (the Priory SchoolThe Priory School (Shrewsbury)
The Priory School is a secondary school in the Shropshire market town of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The school was opened in September 1939 and became a Business and Enterprise College in 2003, with the addition of Applied GCSE courses to the curriculum. The headmistress is Ms Candy Garbett...
in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
from 1969–72 and Newent Community School
Newent Community School
Newent Community School was Gloucestershire’s first purpose built ‘comprehensive’. More than 40 years on and it is now a thriving Foundation School of 1300 students, serving the town and the rural community. The school provided both Secondary and Tertiary education for ages 11 upwards. The school...
from 1972-4) before moving into teacher education. He has an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
from the University of Keele.
He became a lecturer at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and held a number of posts in education development, including Deputy Chief Education Officer in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
(from 1988–90), as well as posts in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
(from 1990-1). From 1991-3 he was Chief Executive of the National Curriculum Council, and also of the SCAA from 1993-4 (the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority later replaced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency is an exempt charity, and an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Children, Schools and Families...
) which replaced the National Curriculum Council and the School Examinations and Assessment Council from 1 October 1993.
OFSTED
Woodhead was appointed head of the Office for Standards in EducationOffice for Standards in Education
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
(OFSTED), the schools inspection service, in 1994.
Woodhead is particularly associated with support for "traditional teaching methods" and for taking a scornful view of "progressive educational theories" introduced into English schools from the 1960s onwards. Supporters claimed that Woodhead was a radical reformer willing to tackle the failings of the education system and only encountering the defensiveness of the educational establishment. Critics argued that he was generating poor morale, rarely identified successes in schools, and that the "progressive teaching" he attacked was a straw man
Straw man
A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position, twisting his words or by means of [false] assumptions...
, with little resemblance to actual classroom practices. Woodhead most prominently identified weaknesses in schools with poor teaching and repeatedly asserted this view. Amongst his controversial remarks he claimed there were "15,000 incompetent teachers" and "I am paid to challenge mediocrity, failure and complacency". His blunt approach gained him many enemies, especially in the teaching profession.
When the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government came to power in 1997 there was much political pressure to replace Woodhead, either immediately or when his initial term expired in 1998, but instead he was retained and his appointment renewed by Education Secretary
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....
David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
. In 1999 Woodhead came under immense pressure to resign when it was claimed by his ex-wife Cathy Woodhead (they divorced in 1977) that whilst working as a teacher he had had an affair with a pupil, Amanda Johnston. His version of events is also hotly disputed by some former colleagues. However Woodhead stood firm with the support of Blunkett. Woodhead and Johnston insisted that although they had met while he was her teacher, the relationship (which lasted for nine years) had only developed several years later in Oxford after they had both left the Gordano School
Gordano School
Gordano School is a comprehensive secondary school with academy status located in Portishead, North Somerset, England. In 1999, the school was awarded Specialist Schools Technology College status. Gordano School has 1,860 students aged 11 to 18.-History:...
, near Bristol. He was Head of English at the school from 1974-6. In February 1999 Woodhead addressed an audience of trainee teachers and was asked for his views on legislation to ban sexual relationships between pupils and teachers. His response was that such relationships, while regrettable, could be "experiential and educative on both sides", a remark for which he later apologised.
Resignation
On 2 November 2000 Woodhead announced his resignation, to much rejoicing amongst the teaching unions.In February 2005, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
obtained information using the Freedom of Information Act, which confirmed that in 1997 Woodhead had overruled a unanimous decision by his own inspectors, and a subsequent inspection visit by HMI inspectors, in order to declare that Islington Green School
Islington Green School
Islington Green School was a comprehensive mixed secondary school from 1966 to 2008. The school was situated in North London and had an age range of 11 to 16. The City of London Academy in Islington replaced Islington Green School in September 2008...
was failing and required special measures. According to the head of the school at the time, "the consequences for staff and pupils were catastrophic". Despite Woodhead's enthusiasm for evidence-based inspection, he has never made public the reasons for this decision.
Later career
He was employed as a columnist for the Daily Telegraph and The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
newspapers. Subsequently he stated that he felt the school-inspection system was now in a strong position and that he "felt unable to defend some aspects of government policy." In 2002 Class War: The State of British Education, a damning verdict on the systemic failures of British education, was published. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed a Professor of Education at the University of Buckingham
University of Buckingham
The University of Buckingham is an independent, non-sectarian, research and teaching university located in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Great Ouse. It was originally founded as Buckingham University College in the 1970s and received its Royal Charter from the...
. He continues to speak out in public on many issues relating to education at both school and university level, often provoking great controversy.
In 2004 Woodhead became chairmain of Cognita
Cognita
Cognita is a private company which owns and operates independent schools throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, Cognita operates a number of international schools in Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam...
, a company that owns and runs independent schools. In May 2009 his second book, A Desolation of Learning: Is this the education our children deserve?, a critical examination of the almost two decades of education policy and reforming initiative, was published. Throughout the years Woodhead has consistently objected to David Blunkett and his cabinet on the way in which English schools have now been governed.
He is on the Advisory Council of Reform
Reform (think tank)
Reform is a British centre-right, liberal, think tank based in London, whose declared mission is to set out a better way to deliver public services and economic prosperity via private sector involvement and market de-regulation. Reform describes itself as independent and non-partisan...
.
Personal life
He met his wife, Cathy, at Bristol and they married in 1969 and had a daughter in 1975 whilst living in Bristol. They divorced in September 1976. He now lives in north Wales with his second wife, and now has two granddaughters. Woodhead was knightedKnight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the 2011 Birthday Honours
2011 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 7 June 2011 in New Zealand and 11 June 2011 in United Kingdom to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2011.-Privy Councillors:...
for services to education.
Woodhead enjoys running and rock climbing. In 2006 he was diagnosed with the fatal neurodegenerative condition motor neurone disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
. In an interview with The Sunday Times published on 3 May 2009, he stated publicly that he would prefer to end his own life than suffer the indignities of the final stages of the disease; in an interview he stated, "The truth is that I would be more likely to drive myself in a wheel-chair off a cliff in Cornwall than go to Dignitas
Dignitas
Dignitas is a Latin word referring to a unique, intangible and culturally subjective social concept in the ancient Roman mindset. The word does not have a direct translation in English. Some interpretations include "dignity", which is a derivation from "dignitas", and "prestige" or "charisma"...
and speak to a bearded social worker about my future."
External links
- His departure as seen by The Guardian in November 2000
- The public view on his departure in 2000
- Telegraph 2001 article
- TV appearances