WHY DID YOU LEAVE OFSTED?
Quite simply, I retired after reaching retirement age. I’d worked for 40 years in schools, as a local authority inspector and an HMI, and I thought it was time to retire from full-time work.
I was really happy at Ofsted. It was really good in terms of being responsible for children’s education, but it was time to hang up my boots and hand the reins over.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SINGLE-WORD INSPECTION JUDGEMENT?
I think the problem is that it isn’t actually a single-word judgement. There are four key judgements sitting underneath that single grade. I think over the years, people have lost sight of that. The judgements don’t have to be the same. It is important to look at the whole thing rather than just a single word; however, I appreciate the single-word judgement gives Government, and parents, the most uncomplicated view of quality.
WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO JOIN BUSY BEES?
I’ve known of Busy Bees for many years. It’s a renowned brand of childcare. The position covers the group’s settings all over the world, so I have the opportunity not just to look at education and childcare in England but also other countries.
I’ve always been fascinated by how other countries deliver education and childcare, so this job seemed like an ideal opportunity to do that. Also, to support Busy Bees’ ongoing work. It is an exciting time to join the group, which just celebrated its 40th birthday, to help them prepare for the next 40 years.
WHAT DOES YOUR DAY-TO-DAY JOB INVOLVE?
I mainly work with leaders across the globe at the nursery group. The directors that manage operations and quality in different countries. We talk about different aspects of quality and safeguarding, for example. We have a curriculum board and an international safeguarding board.
I chair some of those board meetings and support our teams in the UK to develop their work. That takes up a lot of my time.
I also visit settings and work with senior leaders there, as well as regional and national directors. I’ve been to a small percentage of nurseries so far. My job is to make sure that they’ve got all the current up-to-date information they need, particularly around child development.
WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO ACHIEVE IN THE ROLE?
The plan is to ensure we’re on the right path for the next 40 years. It’s about supporting capacity-building within the organisation, making sure that the next generation of leaders are coming through.
OTHER THAN THE UK’S EARLY YEARS SYSTEM, WHICH OTHER COUNTRY DO YOU ADMIRE FOR THEIR EARLY EDUCATION?
What you can’t do is just lift one system from somewhere in the world and plonk it down in another place in the world and expect it to work.
You have to understand the context of your families, where they’re living and what their ambitions are.
You’ve got to work with that as well as the cultural system that’s set by Government as well. So, I couldn’t pick just one system.
Having said that, I don’t think England does a bad job at it. There’s lots to be learnt from other countries, but I think we shouldn’t forget why, in this country, one system was created.
I’m old enough to remember the 152 different sets of regulations for childcare. That wasn’t particularly brilliant.
There was one system for under-twos and another for pre-schoolers. Some inspectors worked for more than one local authority so had to know all the different systems.
When the EYFS and Ofsted was introduced, that was done with good intent.
Some of the things I hear about other countries is that they have too many people looking at the regulations and there are crossovers and conflicting advice, which is never good.
I think we have a lot to be proud of in this country.
Getting to know you…
What have been your most challenging moments throughout your career?
At each stage of my career, there’s been a new challenge, from when I started as a teacher and had the challenge of my own class.
Back then there weren’t teaching assistants. It was a challenge getting to know children’s individual personalities and learning how to deal with issues given the size of the class.
When I went on to become a music advisory teacher, I was 26 and going around schools. A lot of the teachers had been teaching for a long time.
It was before the national curriculum. A lot of them didn’t want to do it. But every time you experience a new challenge, you learn from it.
What has been your most embarrassing moment?
I’ve had so many, but most of them I wouldn’t want to share! I can think of one moment, very early on in my career, where I was singing with my class.
One of the children said I had a funny voice. I felt like I never wanted to sing again; I wanted to scurry away.
But in the end, it had the opposite effect; it made me more determined to get people singing with children because it is such an important thing and it doesn’t matter what your singing voice is like.