Also today, the Ofsted schools inspectorate has offered schools a new complaints review service, in an effort to placate critics who say its inspections place headteachers and staff in England under immense stress and excessive workloads. Ofsted’s proposal unveiled today comes after the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and the National Governors Association (NGA) separately called for changes in Ofsted’s leadership and culture. The two groups were adding their voices to those calling for an overhaul of Ofsted and its school inspection regime, including the Association of School and College Leaders and the National Education Union.
In the wake of the death of headteacher Ruth Perry after an Ofsted inspection, Labour pledged to reform school inspections. But the new framework introduced by Ofsted last year has been criticised for making matters worse. A survey by the NGA reported one governor as saying they saw their school’s senior staff “break down routinely throughout the two days” of inspection, while another said: “The outcome was fair but the process was brutal.” The NAHT’s national executive said in a statement: This is no longer about further amendment to a bankrupt framework.
The leadership and culture of Ofsted must change so that the government and the sector can engage, in an atmosphere of restored trust and good faith, to create an inspection system that is trusted by the sector, valued by parents and the government.” Ofsted said it will establish the new independent complaints review next year to hear challenges from schools dissatisfied with the outcomes of Ofsted’s existing internal complaints service. But Andy Jordan, the Association of School and College Leaders’ inspection and accountability specialist, said “much more” needs to be done to restore confidence in Ofsted.
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