To think the Ofsted inspector who blames WFH parents for low attendance is probably just resentful?

[JandamiHash]

The Chief Inspector of Ofsted is blaming parents who WFH for the demise of school attendance https://www.itv.com/news/2025-02-16/parents-working-from-home-makes-children-feel-school-is-optional-ofsted-head?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0ULgukQnTsabNTlcJRBI4kVQsMYkhCPK_KA4lUAgVkxOocYfo3onmRNHU_aem_nuBknA_QEGgfA93CaTPagg. Apparently none of us want to take our slippers off so we let our kids stay at home while we work.

He makes some REALLY weird points like his overworked dad he didn’t see much as his inspiration to go to school. And also MPs making sure they spend weekends with their families is a bad work ethic.

I know MN is a good example of whenever WFH threads are brought up, non-WFHers come on dripping with resentment over WFH and implying WFHers don’t really work. AIBU to think this man - who has somehow been knighted - is basically doing that? I’m not sure how much inspecting he does now, but Ofsted inspectors aren’t any superior or harder working just because they spend a few days working away from home at a time (something BTW I’m expected to do, at least 1 overnight a month).

Also as someone from a household where 2 of us WFH, I can’t think of anything worse than having kids flapping around us while we try and work. I’m FT, and this week I’m off Weds-Fri, as is DH. my DD11 will be at home tomorrow with strict instructions to keep away unless there’s a serious emergency (she’s secondary and old enough to take care of herself) and at a friend’s on Tuesday. My DS is 8 and is going into a holiday club tomorrow and Tuesday as his neediness is unbearable. Both have somewhere between 97 and 99% attendance so far this academic year.

YABU - “He’s got a point”
YANBU - “He’s wrong/resentful”

Yes as clarified, it does

I’m not talking about this abstract

My son’s low attendance is due to ongoing medical issues awaiting surgery, which has been postponed twice due to long NHS delays/issues.

Other absences due to his mental health because of bullying, which his school have limited measures to deal with because they tell me they dont like suspending or expelling students even when they assault another young person 5 to 1 in a corridor. Maybe Ofsted could have a think about how to deal with that

This

You would like me to provide you with information from the article you haven’t bothered to read (that I have) about the bits you think you might feel resentful about?

Link please to the full article you are referring to.

Yes exactly it’s really just a batshit theory from someone who really should have engaged his PR & comms team.

As I mentioned on another thread I think he/his media team are creating stories to deflect from the criticism of the proposed new OFSTED framework ( rushed, no research, not addressing key issues).

He is turning the focus away from OFSTED and on to parents (and teachers - proposing cutting school holidays).

So you haven't actually read the article and you post this with your illinformed opinion. Why would you actually do that. He does use evidence base and he is making a valid point that a culture of not leaving the home from adults can effect some children not wanting to leave the home for school. He doesn't say all parents WFH are permitting non attendance. He's talking about a societal change that has had some possible unintended consequences. It's a reasonable debate to instigate. He uses the example of his dad leaving the house as a motivation for him as a child. Not weird, not strange, just pointing out things as he is seeing them and opening up a discussion.

It’s behind a paywall
do you have a subscription?

Agreed. He is so used to judging others without walking the talk that he has an inflated perspective of his own opinion, never been tested in real life. That he would even make unsubstantiated and unevidenced claims is another example of how out of touch he is.

Ultimately Ofsted is a joke, were it not so malicious. It is not fit for purpose. It should be abolished.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/ofsted-head-wfh-parents-make-children-think-school-is-optional-qtrmqpw9z

the op doesn’t have a subscription and didn’t bother to read

He's off his rocker. I've worked from home for nearly 5 years, DC have 100% attendance. Can't think of anything I'd want less than to have them around while I'm trying to work it was bad enough during the pandemic. And I do way more work at home than in the office.

No. Most people don't.

You realise you are just shouting into the wind if you are asking people repeatedly to read the full article.

Am I missing something? In what world is it neglect if one parent gets up and goes to work before the children have got up to go to school? Surely that's normal in many households? It was in mine, and I certainly wasn't neglected.

Sounds like this Ofsted person either never works or is resentful others get to work from home. Both are possibilities.

Archived 14 hours ago.

archive.ph/zwNPv

Apparently not. No because it’s behind a paywall bit of a contradiction there OP. you claim to have read the article, except you haven’t and have made up a viewpoint from a quote.

Maybe go and read the article first. And if you can’t read it then it’s a bit disingenuous to start a thread about something you know nothing about.

Turns out op hasn’t bothered to read the article 🙄

Take a read op

then see if you’re frothing with resentment

Hilarious. Going to go and look through the news headlines now and make up a load of threads making stuff up as I go just to get the masses riled up. 😂

The only evidence that the full article has is the stats on current absences which have increased significantly since Covid, and that working from home has also increased in correlation. It has absolutely no evidence that there is any causation apart from supposition.

Personally I think it's far more likely that long term impact of lockdowns are continuing to be seen in the absent rates, rather than it being significantly linked to where a parent works.

I agree.

I went back to the office full time 12 months ago and have definitely sent my kids to school this year on days I'd have kept them home when I was wfh.

I've read the article and I think the blokes talking out his arse.

It’s probably got more to do with schools closing over Covid, kids being abandoned in a lot of cases (from an education standpoint), schools closing on strike days.

Marketing the importance of attending school is somewhat undermined when the schools themselves seemingly close ‘when it suits’.

The number of pupils not attending 10% or more of sessions (ie missing at least one day per fortnight) has approximately doubled since covid (~10 % before 2020, ~ 20% in 2024). So there is obviously something going on, and quite possibly related to covid and things associated with that (eg working/studying from home, lockdown, mental health, increased medical waiting lists etc). I suspect there's more than one issue at play, but I think work from home /hybrid working is a big change and it's reasonable to hypothesise that might be a cause. He's also not saying it'll be an issue from everyone who works from home, or even a majority, but for some it may be. But 20 % missing more than 10 % is a lot and as a society we should be aiming to reduce this. Understanding why is often the first step.