Sir Michael Wilshaw (born 3 August 1946) was the
Chief Inspector of Schools In England and head of
Ofsted from 2012 until 2016. He is the former Headmaster and now executive principal of
Jewish Free School
JFS (formerly known as the Jews' Free School and later Jewish Free School) is a Jewish mixed comprehensive school in Kenton, North London, England and was founded in 1732. Amongst its early supporters was the writer and philanthropist Charlot ...
.
Career
The son of a postman, Wilshaw grew up in a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
household in
south London in the 1950s. He went to Clapham College, a south London grammar school, and then St Mary's teacher training college in
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
. He later took a part-time History degree at
Birkbeck College while teaching in various London schools. At the age of 39 he was appointed head teacher of
St Bonaventure's Catholic School, also known informally as St. Bon's, in
Forest Gate
Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross.
The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...
, London. Whilst there, he was
knighted in the
New Year Honours for 2000 "for services to education".
In 2003, Wilshaw was appointed executive principal of
Mossbourne Community Academy
Mossbourne Community Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located near Hackney Downs off the A104 road, in the Lower Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney in England.
Buildings
The school w ...
in
Hackney in London.
In November 2011, Wilshaw was announced as the successor to
Christine Gilbert
Dame Christine Gilbert McNulty ( McGinty) was the Head of Ofsted (HMCI) also known as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills between October 2006 and 30 June 2011.
Early life and education
Gilbert was born C ...
.
He took up his five-year term from 1 January 2012. In 2015, Wilshaw was paid a salary of between £195,000 and £199,999 by Ofsted, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.
Speaking on BBC TV's ''
The Andrew Marr Show
''The Andrew Marr Show'' is a Sunday morning talk show presented by Andrew Marr. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2005 to 2021.
The programme replaced the long-running '' Breakfast with Frost'' as the network's flagship Sunday talk show when D ...
'' in the wake of the GCSE English results controversy in August 2012, Wilshaw said the row was a "really good opportunity" to examine whether examinations were "rigorous enough", adding that "Two-thirds of our schools are good or better. We have got a third of schools, 6,000 schools, that are not good, that are satisfactory and below. We have to make sure that schools know they have got to get to good soon as possible. We have given them a prescribed period of time, up to four years, in which to get to good." He is now the Chief Academic Adviser to the
Lyceum International School ,
From 1 January 2017 Wilshaw has been a board member of the
Education Policy Institute
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) is an education policy think tank that aims to promote high-quality education outcomes through research and analysis. It is based at 150 Buckingham Palace Road, in central London.
History
It was formed in 2 ...
, a Westminster-based
research institute.
In February 2021, speaking on BBC Newsnight about schools re-opening on 8 March during the coronavirus pandemic, Wilshaw said that medical professionals have "gone the extra mile at great cost to themselves and their families, their health - they have sacrificed their lives in some cases. We need a similar commitment from the teaching profession over the next academic year."
In June 2021, Wilshaw became headmaster of JFS school until the end of the 2021 summer term. He then became the school’s executive principal following the end of his tenure as headmaster.
Offices held
References
External links
Ofsted's official blogs in Sir Michael's name about inspection results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilshaw, Michael
1946 births
Living people
Heads of schools in London
Knights Bachelor
Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London
People from Twickenham
British civil servants