20 minute read
Why Ofsted is not fit for purpose
Charlie Spencer
As the NEU launches a campaign to replace Ofsted with a new accountability regime, Educate talks to members about their experiences of the regulator.
OFSTED turns 30 in May. It’s a birthday few educators will celebrate. Throughout its lifetime, the inspectorate’s very name has become synonymous with stress, workload, criticism and failure. For leaders, that list is topped by fear.
So much so that NEU joint general secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney wrote to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi in October calling for the regime to be replaced.
“Over the past three decades, it has become a toxic force within the education system,” they wrote. “At present, NEU members tell us that Ofsted is not fit for purpose.”
Members’ inspection stories describe Ofsted’s problems very clearly. Together, these experiences form a familiar and worrying picture. Inspectors with no experience of working in the phase they are inspecting; the regulator’s lack of understanding of the challenges schools and colleges face; the failure to factor those challenges into its judgements; a regime that takes a snapshot of a complex organisation, rather a whole picture, and then delivers what can be a devastating judgement.
It is hardly surprising that more than 80 per cent of NEU members polled said they would like to see Ofsted’s punitive regime abolished. In its place, they would like a supportive, improvementfocused organisation to oversee schools and colleges.
Most see Ofsted as incapable of such a transformation.
Soon after Ofsted launched its 2019 inspection framework, the union began receiving a large number of complaints from members that their workload had soared, and they were being grilled by inspectors as part of a new “brutal” process.
Six months later, the pandemic arrived. It could have represented a much-needed opportunity for Ofsted to reframe its relationship with the profession into a more positive one founded on support. Instead, Ofsted resisted calls to pause inspections during the Covid-19 crisis – only doing so when instructed to by the Government – and then chief inspector Amanda Spielman caused outrage by suggesting too much attention was being given to sending out food parcels to the most disadvantaged pupils during lockdown.
Last September, Ofsted restarted ‘business as usual’ inspections, to the exasperation of school leaders. Former head teacher Dame Alison Peacock, chief executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, denounced Ofsted’s “reign of terror” whose inspectors, she said, believed teachers “should behave like robots”.
Of the reports over the following pages by NEU members, those whose schools have been inspected since September lay bare a staggering lack of insight or understanding among inspectors of the difficulties the biggest public health crisis in a hundred years continues to cause in education.
“It should take a fortnight to get back to normal.” That is what an inspector told teacher Charlie Spencer (pictured left and see page 26), a comment, he says, that left him “absolutely speechless”.
Similarly, head teacher John Hayes (see page 27) found that apart from a couple of questions about online learning and developing the curriculum, there “wasn’t a lot of notice taken of Covid” by the inspector who visited his school in October.
For Ofsted, it seems, schools and colleges operate in a vacuum.
And yet, less than two weeks after the NEU wrote to Mr Zahawi setting out Ofsted’s many problems, he announced an extra £24 million boost for “accelerating the rate of Ofsted inspections” – to the fury of head teachers and education unions.
The NEU says now is not the time to ignore us: “The time has come to listen to the voice of our profession, replace Ofsted and work with us on an inspection system that supports our schools and colleges, and our children.”
Here we talk to five educators about their experiences with Ofsted: two head teachers, a primary school teacher, an early years teacher and a sixth form college lecturer. While their experiences vary – from downright angry at seeing their colleagues “broken”, to stressed, sad and frustrated – they all have suggestions on how an accountability regime could be fairer and more supportive. continued on page 26
Value Education: Value Educators Why Ofsted isn’t fit for purpose
Interviews by Max Watson, Laraine Clay and Sarah Thompson Portraits by Rehan Jamil, Kois Miah and Sarah Turton
continued from page 25
Five reasons to oppose Ofsted
n Ofsted delivers invalid and unreliable inspection judgements. n Ofsted’s inspection system is unfairly biased against schools in disadvantaged areas. n Ofsted keeps moving the goalposts in reaction to criticism – it has changed its framework five times in the last ten years, which isn’t fair on schools and colleges undergoing inspections. n Ofsted’s judgements are unreliable, and inspectors are frequently not experts in the education areas they are inspecting. n Ofsted drives teachers from the profession by creating unnecessary workload, pressure and stress – especially in poorer areas where schools and colleges need the most support.
Charlie Spencer
is a year 6 teacher at St Barnabas and St Philip’s Church of England Primary School, London
“THE worst day of my professional life was the day after the Ofsted inspectors had left,” Charlie (pictured on page 24) tells Educate.
“We were sitting in the staff room with the chair of governors in a morning meeting and he was just trying to encourage us to keep going. I looked around the room and honestly, you just saw broken people – people I know go above and beyond to do their job – who had been made to feel they are bad teachers.”
Charlie teaches at a single-form-entry faith school, which had previously been rated Outstanding until an inspection in October 2021 downgraded its rating to a Requires Improvement. Charlie says his colleagues believe the inspectors arrived with a predetermined agenda to “find failures”.
“It just made me so angry that we have a system in this country that can come into a school and break teachers in the way in which it does,” he says.
A major concern was the way Ofsted seemed to brush aside the need to catch up after the Covid-19 pandemic. The inspector stated they should be “back to normal” after just two weeks. “Those words were the most insulting words. It leaves you absolutely speechless.”
“Ofsted didn’t take into account the sacrifices that these teachers, who they broke so badly, have made in the past 18 months. We have literally given everything to our jobs over the last two years to ensure that no child in our care misses out.”
Charlie posted an open letter about his school’s experience of Ofsted to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, which went viral on social media, receiving more than 13,000 reactions on Facebook and Instagram. This level of engagement suggests “the teaching community has had enough”, Charlie believes.
“I was reading the comments left by teachers, every single day, and every single comment was: this completely resonates with us; we completely understand that experience; we’ve lived through this.
“The saddest thing was the fact that I could have counted hundreds of comments saying ‘this is why I left teaching’. We cannot retain teachers, because Ofsted and its system of accountability drives teachers out of the profession. We have got to put an end to it.
Charlie believes the profession is at a “tipping point” and he backs the NEU’s campaign to replace Ofsted and come up with a fairer system of accountability.
“A fair inspection regime should offer support rather than come in and basically assassinate the school,” he argues.
Trust is a key word for Charlie’s vision of a fair accountability regime. “If an inspector spots room for improvement, then work with us to improve it. I think Ofsted – or whatever system we replace it with – needs to have trust in teachers as professionals; trust that they are going to do the job to the best of their ability.”
Charlie closes his open letter on a determined note: “I will not be bullied by Ofsted and made to feel as though I am inadequate. I will also campaign and fight for change.”
A united voice: Ofsted is not fit for purpose
IN 2022, the NEU is launching a new petition calling for an end to the Ofsted regime. Following our letter to the Secretary of State, we want to demonstrate the united voice of the profession attesting to one simple fact: Ofsted is not fit for purpose. The petition will call on Government to set up a commission with the profession and parents to investigate viable, non-toxic alternatives to the current system. The findings of the commission should be used to develop an inspection system for schools and colleges that is professional, valid and reliable. We need your help to build the petition across schools and colleges everywhere, to drive home the message that education professionals deserve far better than Ofsted. After signing our petition, all members should visit our Value Educators Hub. The hub includes a model workload toolkit to help you fight workload generated by Ofsted, as well as model slides to help you meet with members in your workplace and a letter to raise issues you identify together with your leadership team. n Visit neu.org.uk/valueeducators
John Hayes
John Hayes
is a member of the NEU National Leadership Council and head teacher at Gospel Oak Primary and Nursery School in Camden, north London
“FOR a school leader, the biggest stress is the timescale,” says John.
He had been given categoric assurance on a Friday that, due to Covid, the timeframe for his next inspection would be seven years. “Which would have put us in January 2023. We got the call two days later.”
During the pandemic, when Ofsted was paused, head teachers could “stop looking over our shoulders, waiting for an inspection” and focus on “all the extra pressure the pandemic threw at us”.
And under the previous framework, an Outstanding school like John’s could “stop worrying about inspections”.
“During that time, we developed lots of facilities in the building, and opportunities for children; because we’re professionals who can be trusted.”
During their inspection in October, there was minimal reference to the pandemic. They were asked about it in terms of online learning: “Other than that, there wasn’t a lot of notice taken of Covid; particularly about staff wellbeing,” says John.
As a former adviser to schools undergoing inspection, and having dealt with inspectors, John believes no matter how objective they try to be, they bring their personal perspective to the task. “It’s impossible to be entirely objective,” he says. “I’m not against accountability. We’re public employees spending public money.
“We do a job for parents and children that is hugely important. But Ofsted could turn up any day, regardless of when you were last inspected, and we’ve no idea whether we’ll be ready for it.”
Any inspection regime ought to be developmental and supportive and work more closely with local authorities so that it’s a learning opportunity. “It just doesn’t feel like school improvement, and I think it could be.
“I say to every inspector, ‘you’re very welcome. My school is amazing and I want you to come and see it.’ But I have to say, ‘you haven’t seen how amazing it is because you’ve only looked at a few areas that led you to make a very big decision’.”
The key thing for John is the reduction of the inspections to one of four words: “They spend millions of pounds inspecting schools and most parents only look at one word.”
He suggests schools could be graded as either “effective or ineffective” and the rest of their reports could describe the school in a lot more detail. A supportive inspection regime could “review the effectiveness of schools and give advice. They could use the framework to check if there are schools that are failing their community and their children.
“I want all pupils, no matter their background or what school they go to, to get the best possible education they can and so if schools are letting them down, they need to be held to account.
“You should only get a Big Brothertype inspection if there are problems – if the children aren’t safe or if there are behaviour issues. Otherwise, it’s just not helpful. It builds a climate of fear and it’s an opportunity for lots of organisations to make lots of money.”
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Lucy Coleman teaches in a mixed reception/year 1 class in Oxford
HER last Ofsted inspection, at a previous school, Lucy felt was “a complete waste of mine and my colleagues’ time”.
“There were two inspectors, neither of whom had any experience in early years, or even key stage 1,” she explains. Inevitably, the early years setting needed to be explained to the inspectors, one of whom then challenged Lucy on what level of writing the children should be at.
After a to-and-fro, the inspector conceded, telling Lucy: “Well, actually, I don’t really know how much a five-year-old can write. So, you’re probably right.”
She says: “I thought, yes, I do know what children can do at age five and I do know what an early learning goal is. And yet you’re inspecting me, and you’re arguing with me about what children can do.
“Surely if you’re coming in to inspect early years provision, you should have done your research and found out what the early learning goals are, before you start questioning somebody?”
Thanks to a supportive head, the inspector who “interrogated” Lucy came to apologise. “But it’s still not nice to be in a room with somebody who clearly has more power than you and you’re having to defend yourself and your practice.”
Because Lucy has 20 years’ experience working in early years she felt able to stand her ground. “Maybe somebody who’s not had so much experience and is not so confident in their own practice would not have stood up to the inspector,” she reflects.
“In terms of early years, it’s even worse now. We’re having to defend everything we do. You’re having to defend why children are playing and why children can lead their own learning.”
Inspection should be more of a supportive process and more of an opportunity for staff to celebrate the things that they’re doing, she says.
“None of us in early years ever really stops moving forward, we’re always trying new things, we’re always adapting our practice.”
“There should be a process where you learn from other schools and learn from each other, celebrate the things that you’re good at, and be honest about the things that you want to improve,” she adds. To that end, there should be school networks and coaching opportunities.
The Ofsted regime inevitably increases workload. “Even when you work in a school with a supportive senior leadership team, there’s still always the underlying dread of getting ‘that’ call. You are expected to do things ‘just in case’ – for when Ofsted comes.”
At a previous school, mock Ofsteds took place. “A lot of staff meeting time and CPD time is often devoted to being ‘Ofsted-ready’, whatever that means.
“I think that actually, as teachers, we could spend our CPD time doing far more exciting and useful things that would benefit the children, rather than spending time preparing for whenever Ofsted might grace us with its presence.”
Rob Corbett
is head teacher at Ifield Community College in Crawley, West Sussex
OFSTED inspections were re-introduced far too soon, says Rob.
With high levels of coronavirus infections in the school and consequent absences, he says the worry of a possible inspection means staff cannot focus on issues such as ensuring the school environment is as Covid safe as possible.
“We’re in a difficult time at the moment and the re-introduction of inspections has meant we can’t concentrate on these important things,” he says.
“We’ve got lots of very high levels of infection in schools and high levels of absences. It remains to be seen what impact Covid could still have.
“There are lots of reasons why schools should be inspected but now isn’t really the time. I think largely it’s Ofsted justifying its own existence.”
Rob says that when inspections were suspended during the pandemic, it was very valuable not to have to think about paperwork and other matters that an Ofsted visit requires.
“I think in general Ofsted has, in its time, done a lot of things that are good and important, but there needs to be consistency in the actual quality of inspections.
“I’ve had some excellent inspectors who knew their stuff and I’ve had the complete reverse. I think the whole inspection system is due for a review in terms of that level of quality.”
He also believes far too high a value is put on the inspection reports. “We’ve come to a point where the cart is pulling the horse.”
Ifield Community College was judged Requires Improvement (RI) in 2014, shortly before Rob joined the school, and Good in 2018.
“RI makes recruitment hard, it makes parents much more antagonistic, it makes the level of scrutiny of all the work that we do much more hefty – it’s counter-productive.”
He would like to see Ofsted “largely reformed” or a new body take on a similar function in a different way, working closely with local authorities and schools in a supportive role, rather than in the current “high stakes, cliff edge system” that operates now.
“At the moment inspectors come in for two days every four years. That’s not a good way to judge a school; on any particular day something can look worse than it looks on another day. Lots of inspectors can’t make that distinction.”
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Pippa Dowswell
is a biology teacher at City and Islington College in London
PIPPA works at a London sixth form college where staff took six days’ strike action last summer. This was unprecedented – for years industrial relations were good. She argues the college’s new management has “weaponised” the most recent Ofsted grade 3 (Requires Improvement) to push through unpopular changes to terms and conditions.
“It’s an ongoing thing,” she explains. When the most recent Ofsted inspection graded them in January 2020, staff were “angry”.
The main problem is the size of the college. Since merging with both Westminster Kingsway and College of Enfield, Haringey and North East London, they now teach on 11 sites as part of the Capital City College Group. “We’re an absolutely massive college – really huge.” (According to Ofsted it is one of the largest providers of further education in the country.)
“How much of it did the inspectors actually see?” Pippa asks. “Hardly anybody in the part of the college I work had their lessons looked at – there was a very small proportion. So how can they come to a judgement?”
Secondly, says Pippa: “It just seems to be completely data driven. They look at your value-added scores, but don’t look at the context of what’s happening. They just judge on that. And they’ve already made their mind up what they’ll find.”
Since the Ofsted grading and subsequent changes in management, senior executives of the college have sought to change terms and conditions – and Pippa says they regularly use Ofsted as an excuse. “They’re using the Ofsted grading to change our terms and conditions, and our longstanding custom and practices – which they’ve completely run roughshod over.”
The NEU took six days strike action – and the University and College Union, ten days – against changes to classroom observation policies last summer term. And the dispute has led to a high turnover of staff. “People are looking for other jobs all the time, which never used to happen. Our college used to be a happy place,” says Pippa.
When Pippa goes into dispute meetings with management a common statement is: “‘Once the Ofsted inspection is over and we’ve got a grade 2, then we will be able to be more flexible’. So they’re using that as an excuse.”
She believes if there are pockets of bad practice within the college, Ofsted should look at them carefully. “This is a massive organisation. It would be a miracle if there weren’t. So go and solve those particular problems then – don’t punish us all.”
For Pippa, who has taught for nearly 30 years, a fair inspection regime would be one that values a “holistic education”. She would like to see less emphasis on absolute exam grades and much more on enrichment activities.
Ultimately, Ofsted should be asking of students and staff: “Are they happy here? Are they enjoying their education? Because it’s all linked – if staff are happy, and enjoying their jobs and enjoying being at work, working collaboratively, then the students will be doing the same.”
Eman Mohamed is head of faculty (PSHE and RS) and a science & child development teacher at a school in west Essex, and winner of the Black educators’ conference New Activist Award.
Looking after pupils and colleagues alike
What do you love about your job?
Each part of my job is different and makes me love it even more. Leading in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is a huge passion. I love designing lessons in a variety of topics that teach pupils skills and attributes they need to stay healthy and safe, and which will help them manage their lives.
Likewise, teaching child development allows students to understand roles and the responsibilities of parenthood, from preconception through antenatal to postnatal care. Pupils develop an appreciation of the importance of creating the best conditions for a child to thrive.
What do you love about being in the union?
It is so much more than just an insurance policy for members. I became a rep in November 2020. It is important to ensure members know their rights and equally important to work with management to make sure members are looked after. In turn, this establishes a good working environment. I am grateful to the west Essex district for its support over the last year.
What have you been up to lately?
We moved to a temporary Covid timetable to accommodate staggered year groups, as well as extra lessons for year 11. This meant that some members were starting at 8am and finishing at 4.30pm. I downloaded the NEU calculator and worked out that members would eventually be doing more than 1,265 hours by the end of the year.
I had a meeting with members and the concerns were taken to the head. There was a follow-up meeting a few days later, where she had used the NEU calculator and confirmed we were short-changed 15 hours in the first term. We have now moved from the temporary timetable to a new one, which means that we will not be going over 1,265 hours, even with the extra 15 hours in the first term.
As a rep, I have also worked with
Eman, right, and (above) in the union’s Value Education video – watch and share it at valueeducation.org.uk
management to ensure planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time is fair, cover is addressed and all our members are content, and feel valued and appreciated.
What’s important to you right now?
Following the honour of receiving the New Activist Award at the NEU’s Black educators’ conference, it is important to continue my activism, ensuring I continue to educate myself, my colleagues and all those around me. We all need to stand together to ensure we become as a society anti-racist, anti-homophobic, antibullying and so on.
What do you do on your day off?
Covid-19 has made me realise just how important family and friends are. Phone conversations, meeting up for dinner and enjoying everyone’s company feels more important than ever right now. Sundays were made for the sofa and Netflix.
Tell us something we don’t know.
My claim to fame is playing semi-professional football for Tottenham Hotspur FC Women in 1998/1999. I have also met quite a few Arsenal legends: David Seaman, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Tony Adams, to name a few.
n See page 21 for a report on the Black educators’ conference
