Both of us look forward to Aelwyn's annual visit to the Frank and Stan Chat. Always well prepared, challenging and at times controversial Aelwyn is, as my wife says, a proper HMI. After over 20 years of working for Ofsted in various roles, he retired a few years ago, but he remains committed to his desire for all children and young people to succeed.

Stan gets things rolling as he considers a couple of complaints about services he has received recently. The difference in the way he felt after both of them is quite striking. He considers whether schools can learn from the starkly different outcomes.

Aelwyn then considers how strongly schools are committed to enrichment activities and how things have changed over time in terms of what some staff offer to their pupils. He recalls in detail his attempts to coach a rugby team when his talents were possibly better suited to music.

With time short, Frank lays a marker down for the next chat when he draws attention to the manager positions at his beloved Southend Utd and Southampton FC. There is much to learn from those two situations at the moment.

And yes, we are chatting to Aelwyn about another appearance in May 2027.

Enjoy, cos it's a belter.

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