Revolution was rushed, warns ex-Ofsted head Baroness Sally Morgan

Education has faced a “rushed revolution”, allowing poor quality academies to open and free schools to be set up by unsuitable groups, the former chairwoman of Ofsted has warned.

Baroness Sally Morgan, who stepped down from her role at the watchdog this month, said the education world was suffering the consequences of changes which allowed “ideology to trump common sense”.

In what could be seen as an attack on former education secretary Michael Gove, who failed to appoint her for a second term at Ofsted, she said: “Meaningful reform can’t rely solely on passion and vision, nor on ideology; it also entails working with what already exists … 

“It is always tempting to have a take-no-prisoners approach to reform. But in truth, this way has a limited shelf life. At some point reformers have to reach out and form alliances because they need other people to make their reforms work.”