When I started inspecting for Ofsted in 1995 as a seconded headteacher, I recall significant discussions about adequacy and sufficiency of resources. A quick search of inspection reports around that time highlights how direct inspectors were in reporting that some subjects had insufficient books or that the quality of the available resources hindered pupils’ learning. This was a time when a lack of investment in education was seriously affecting school performance.
It is not surprising that the chief inspector’s annual report for 1996/7 drew attention to ‘shortages in books and equipment affect(ing) teaching adversely in one in four secondary and one in ten primary schools’ and that ‘the vagaries of resource allocation meant that the school had not received sufficient funding to do the job it was expected to do’. Pretty damning stuff.
