It’s Becoming ‘Impossible’ to Give Tough Messages, Says Former Ofsted Chief

The interests of adults in schools should not come before those of children and sometimes “difficult conversations have to happen,” the former Ofsted chief has said. “It is incredibly difficult to give tough messages,” former head of Ofsted Amanda Spielman told the “Difficult Women” podcast on Monday, as she discussed the tensions involved in the inspectorate communicating findings to schools. “Are we in a world where it is impossible to give a tough message, or if at all, if somebody who gives a tough message is assumed to be bad by reason of giving the message? “I think it’s a really a dangerous place to head. I think we’ve got to get to a place where people can discuss explicitly, how do we best handle these situations?” the former head of the schools inspectorate said....