By Gabriel Princewill-
New Ofqual chief regulator, Dr Jo Saxton, has been asked by this publication to improve the training and professionalism of press officers who represent Ofqual.
The call for immediate improvement comes after one of its rude and ostensibly inept press officers, dropped the regulator’s out of hours press phone when she encountered a question she could not handle about plans to include footballer Marcus Rashford in the GC.S.E curriculum.
The seemingly immature lady who gave her name as Jane, thought a claim to being in a meeting justified her evading queiries she is paid to address, and displaying a shameful level of rudeness in the process.
Instead, she accentuated a worrying observation of ostensibly half baked individuals being appointed to important posts.
The value of a press officer’s post has become questionable of late, in light of a pool of incapable and lame representatives who do a disservice to an otherwise dignified post.
Whilst it is refreshing to encounter press officers in the same field who are well grounded in their roles, and demonstrate authority and confidence in handling the matters within their remit, others stain the image of the post and bring it to disrepute.
Dr Saxton who was appointed by the Education Select Committee in July this year, has been sent a comprehensive letter, asking her to address all levels of ineptitude in her department, if the full efficiency of her office is to be trusted by schools and the public at large.
Ofqual is the independent regulator for qualifications, exams and assessments in England. Its main remit is to maintain standards and public confidence in GCSE, A , and AS levels, as well as vocational and technical qualifications.
Yet, the regulator’s own standards are painfully wanting in the basic area of accountability and efficiency.
Last August, the Office Of Nagtional Statistics (OSR)revealed that the alogorithim used by Ofqual to determine exam grades for A level students who could not sit exams due to the pandemic essentially amounted to cheating.
The OSR said it would conduct an urgent review of Ofqual process.
A few months later, the regulator appears to have approved the inclusion of a footballer in the G.C.S.E curriculum, and when The Eye Of Media.Com decided to scrutinise the underlying logic to the plans, one of its press officers inadvertently exposed her own lack of suitability for a post that deals with the media- which necessarily ensures accountability through scrutiny, in order to adequately inform and educate the public on various issues.
Upon the appointment of Saxton to her post, Interim Chair of Ofqual Ian Bauckham CBE said: ”As a former educator and Ofqual board member, I have no doubt that she will provide insightful leadership to Ofqual”. Now is the time for Saxton to provide that leadership and ensure the all round competence of every facet of its organisation.
The Demand For Confidence
This publication demands that Ofqual establishes public confidence in its internal and external operations, after we found the highly placed regulator had employed a seemingly immature press officer to handle its out of hours phone service. Jane comes across as a liability to Ofqual, notwithstanding the fact someone was comfortable enough to place her there.
Dr Saxton was selected for the high role following an open recruitment competition and assessment process led by a panel, conducted in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Dr Saxton was also recommended by former Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, who was recently sacked by the prime minister Johnson.
However, just three months into her new post, this employee under the banner of her organisation is exhibiting an alarming level of arrogance and incomeptence that calls for scrutiny over the processes through which various departments in the government employ and train their staff.
In doing so, such unscrupulous individuals inadvertently expose their lack of foresight that the impudence they exhibited would be laid bar, and invariably reflect badly on both themselves and their respective organisation.
Also conspicuous is the fact that Ofqual’s press office do not fully display the identities of its press officers in the same manner as The Ministry Of Justice, The Judicial Press Office, and Ofsted press office , all of whom publish the full details of its press officers online. Such lack of transparency doesn’t bode well for its image.
The judicial press office and Ofsted have also displayed similar levels of ineptitude and arrogance in the past, both of which have been condemned by this publication, and are under ongoing scrutiny.
We recently exposed the judicial press office, after we discovered that almost all of its staff did not appear to be attending to press calls on their mobile phone. This, despite the fact the office publicly professes to have those individuals on standby to handle press inquiries.
Press officers of the similarly low calibre in question, inadvertently expose their lack of foresight that the impudence they have recklessly exhibited will be laid bar, and invariably reflect badly on both themselves and their respective organisation.
With respect to Ofsted, we waited three months to confirm that a stated complaint process on their site amounts to mere rhetoric, not practice. We will be returning to that matter in due course.
Catching the press offices of governmental departments unwittingly advertising sub-optimal standards of efficacy in their appointed roles is a matter of serious concern.
There is no shortage of money in the Uk government to hire capable and confident staff to deal with the media. Those not up to the task ought not be paid a wage they have not earned, as this becaomes potentially tantamount to corruption.
Standards
Ofqual as a regulatory body should be setting standards at all levels, not woefully falling below them. When standards are painfully lacking in one crucual area, it begs the question what other areas are wanting in terms of the requisite level of professional standards.
The failing of Ofqual’s press office came to the fore after this publication questioned plans to include Manchester United striker, Marcus Rashford , in the G.C.S.E curriculum .
Our probe was not designed to undermine the potential value of including a footballer in the academic curriculum, but rather to address the absence of any clarity on how the inclusion would develop the academic or intellectual develoment of G.C.S.E students in the Uk.
Addressing our question would have been no problem for a bright and capable press officer, but apparently that was too much to expect of Jane.
The incredulously shallow woman, said : ”I m in a meeting”, before dropping the phone when asked about the legitimacy of plans of Rashford in the G.C.S.E curriculum. She was immediately call back, but her response was even more shocking than the first time. ”Look I am busy and don’t want to talk to trolls”, she foolishly stated on a professional mobile phone.
Indiscretion And Self Conceit
Jane was appointed to answer the out of hours press office, which naturally requires her to deal with press inquiries outside working hours. Rather,what transpired was an alarming indiscretion, symptomatic of both arrogance and self- conceit leading to the logical conclusion that she is unsuitable for her post.
How she got her post is anybody’s guess, but this lady with an inflated ego seems to lack the wherewithal to optimally execute the post she occupies.
Put quite simply,she is unfit for the job.
Our irrefutable finding calls for Dr Jo Saxton to thoroughly examine the proficiency of those employed in the organisation over which she presides
It is nothing new for individuals to be appointed to high posts based on contacts, rather than on all round competence. This has been evident in numerous councils where corruption and incompetence have been found by an entire team of professionals.The saying ‘its not what you know, it’s who you know’ is a common catchphrase familiar to all.
In truth, both factors are usually important. When having good contacts is the predominant factor to placement in a professional post, corruption and inefficiency often follows,
Inclusion Of Rashford In Curriculum
A proposal to include Rashford in the curriculum for G.C.S.E students is said to be driven by the idea of teaching students about the footballer’s use of social media and his thoughts about racism, but the entire framework of the agenda falls short of explaining the intellectual stimulus behind the idea .
If those proposing a scheme or an idea cannot defend its underpinning rationale, it avowedly discredits the quality of their judgement.
Rashford was subjected to racial abuse after he missed a penalty in the penalty shoot out of the Euro tournament finals in May, leading to uproar and condemnation against those misfits of society.
Notwwithstanding, this doesn’t justify using tenuous means to try to compensate for damage done by the hopeless none entities of society.
Rashford is subject of debate Image: skysports.com
The Man U striker has been rightfully lauded for campaigning tirelessly for at least a meal a day for all pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Rashford achieved two of his original demands – the provision of meals and activities to low-income families during school holidays, and the expansion of the healthy start voucher scheme.
Commendable as his endeavours were, this cannot be an automatic license to altering the curriculum of students, without indicating how the inclusion would be beneficiary to the intellectual development of those students, and contribute to a solid foundation for their future.
We consulted widely before presenting our well thought out questions. Ofqual simply were not up to the task of answering our questions.
A representative of Ofqual today told this publication ”This is a matter for the D&E(The Department Of Education)
However, the Department Of Education was contacted by this publication Yesterday and told us this was a matter for Ofqual.
What does that tell us? They are confused and don’t what they are doing, hence the justification of our question.
A smart press officer who cannot answer a question on a topic about which they should be quite conversant , would politely request more time to make further inquiries.
When they imprudently act like children, they only confirm our suspicions that their employment in that post may be based on favouritism, not merit.
Ms Saxton brings a decade of experience in school leadership to her post and was formerly a government advisor .
Dr Saxton held senior roles at multi-academy trust Future Academies and founded Turner Schools in 2016, leading it as Chief Executive until 2020.
She is a well accomplished professional, and will now have the task of showing true leadership in her job by getting rid of the amateurs aming her staff.