Sandwell Academy in West Bromwich has scored an “Outstanding” rating from its latest Ofsted inspection. The highest grading a school can achieve.
It is the third time in a row that Sandwell Academy has achieved this award. The consistently excellent education provided by Sandwell Academy should be a cause for celebration and it’s right to congratulate all the staff and students who have contributed to that success. This, sadly, was not the approach of Cllr. Simon Hackett.
Sandwell Council’s head of Childrens Services’ response to the news was, to say the least, grudging. “The academy has obviously demonstrated to Ofsted that the school achieves and maintains such high standards”, Hackett told the press.
No word of congratulation, not a hint of celebration.
Perhaps Simon is so used to attempting to explain why schools run by Sandwell council are so often at the bottom of league tables that he is simply unable to deal with success.
Or it may be that his Corbynista convictions do not allow him to celebrate the achievements of an academy school which is not run or controlled by the council.
Socialist principles require state or council control of services or organisations, even though that results in ineffective and badly run bodies. Socialist envy and dogma prevent acknowledgement of merit in alternatives. And principles are preferred to people.
Our principles dictate that every Sandwell child is entitled to education in an “Outstanding” school. Any true champion of the children of Sandwell would unhesitatingly rejoice that students were getting this quality of education.