LETTER:Not so much Ofsted, as off his head

CHRIS Woodhead is not the subject of most teacher's loathing, as Fran Abrams suggests ("The school bully?", 4 February). Most of us do, however, think he is bonkers.

The transformation from mild-mannered "hey, just so long as the kids have a good time" teacher trainer to the Judge Dredd of the education system was well documented. It was not surprising, therefore, to discover on Monday that the Ofsted generalissimo had found 15,000 teachers in England "unsatisfactory". What was surprising was the interview he gave that morning.

The national curriculum is so broad and complex that we are virtually asking our teachers to be "Renaissance men and women", he argued. "It's up to government and local authorities to ensure teachers get the support, advice and training they so urgently need."

Is this the same man who approves of threats to motivate teachers? Apparently so.

Richard Vergette

Barrow on Humber,

Humberside