| SPOTLIGHT |
Ofsted has today (12 June) announced a “package of measures”, including changes to its inspection processes and a revised complaints procedure, following a debate about the impact of school inspections.
The organisation revealed that revisions to school inspections will see inspectors return within three months to schools graded inadequate where this is “only due to ineffective safeguarding”.
School leaders’ union NAHT has said the changes to inspections “do not go far enough” and called for “more fundamental reform”.
In April, NAHT wrote to His Majesty’s Chief Inspector to demand a suspension of Ofsted inspections while steps are taken to address the risk to the mental health of school staff and enable suicide risk prevention to be put in place.
The union argued that the death of headteacher Ruth Perry indicated the “human rights of school staff are not being protected by the current Ofsted regime”.
Ruth Perry was the head at Caversham Primary School in Reading and took her own life while waiting for a report that downgraded her school to "inadequate".
Ofsted announced that since April, it has been in “regular discussion” with union leaders, other sector representatives and the Department for Education (DfE) about “a package of measures to improve aspects of our work with schools”.
It revealed that from September, it will offer schools “greater clarity about the threshold for effective versus ineffective safeguarding” through its inspection handbook, as well as “regular blogs and webinars”.
Ofsted also announced the charity Education Support, funded by DfE, will now be “doubled in size to support an additional 500 heads by March 2024”.
It added: “In the longer term, the DfE commits to further expand its mental health and wellbeing offer beyond March 2024.”
Responding to the changes announced by Ofsted and the government, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “While these individual measures are sensible and somewhat helpful, they go nowhere near far enough in addressing the profession’s concerns.
“It has taken far too long for the government and Ofsted to announce this relatively modest set of measures and school leaders remain immensely frustrated at the lack of urgency and ambition being shown. NAHT continues to call for more fundamental reform of the inspection process.
“While the government insists on consigning schools to simplistic single word judgements, the system will remain fundamentally flawed and put unnecessary pressure on school leaders.”
Gillian Keegan, Secretary of State for Education said: “Taken together, today’s announcements are a really important step. I have committed to continuing our work on improving the way we inspect our schools with Ofsted and the family of Ruth Perry following her tragic death.”
Lottie Winson
