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Ofsted rating shake-up

6.39PM Tue Jan 17 2012

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw is defending plans to scrap the "satisfactory" rating for schools after criticism from unions.

Children need more skills, qualifications and training in the face of the current economic situation, Sir Michael insisted as he described the satisfactory grade as a "false designation".

"This is about creating good schools across the nation and that should be our intention. At the moment, of course, we have got over a million young people unemployed and that number is likely to grow," he told BBC Breakfast.

"They obviously need more skills, more qualifications, more training, not less, so they need to go to good schools."

Sir Michael's remarks come after union leaders criticised the Ofsted plans which will mean changing the "satisfactory" rating to "requires improvement".

By: Libby Wiener

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