Michael Gove, Ofsted and Angry Sheep

With a certain amount of gleeful satisfaction, I watched the heckling of Michael Gove at the recent NAHT conference. This is because the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) is usually about as militant as a flock of neutered sheep. Other welcome news was that the NAHT has voted to affiliate to the TUC. If they were listening, the government would see that this is a sign that the natives are getting restless. Other teaching unions have been warning of teacher discontent for years. If the NAHT have decided to join the fight, it is a welcome addition, if overdue.
Gove looked somewhat discomfited by his frosty reception, but, as expected, declared his intent to continue with the government's drive to raise standards. As everyone knows, this is a familiar refrain from Education Secretaries, Tory or Labour. It is an old chestnut that never seems to leave the fire. When it was pointed out to Gove that OFSTED created a climate of fear, he said that there was a need to part company, but he didn't leave, much less resign, unfortunately.
Although I welcome the NAHT's criticism of Gove, it is highly unlikely to change anything. Schools will continue to become academies, initiative after initiative will be piled upon school staff and the carping against teachers from senior politicians and the right-wing media will continue. This is basically for two reasons.
The first reason lies in the underlying ideology that powers much of Tory thinking. This is the drive to reduce the role of the state in social provision (AKA "saving public money"), hence the drive towards educational academies. This is mainly to be found in the secondary school sector, but will doubtless be focussed upon the primary sector in time.
There is, I would contend, a secondary reason. This government, as some commentators have noted, appears to devise its policies down the pub. Nowhere is this apparent tendency more clearly to be seen at work than in education policy. Every pub loudmouth (usually male, usually Tory) will tell you that teachers aren't doing their jobs properly and need sorting out. I have no doubt that Gove and his friends and colleagues express the same views when they chat over drinks at their clubs in Mayfair.
I have pointed out, in previous posts, that OFSTED pressure and government "initiatives" (Tory AND Labour) are causing demoralisation among teachers and leading to an increasing number of teachers leaving the profession. About half of new teachers leave in the first five years, according to the Guardian. Incredibly, Gove himself commented on this issue back in 2010, describing it as a "tragic waste of talent". At the time, Gove blamed this exodus on the problems that teachers face when keeping order in the classroom. He is oddly silent on the continuing exodus nowadays. I wonder how Gove and his ilk will explain one day why we have a teacher shortage?
Still, I take heart from Gove's treatment by the NAHT conference delegates. If sheep get angry, the shepherds should beware.