红桃影视

Trust bosses have defended parachuting in central team staff to their schools during Ofsted inspections after the union representing inspectors raised 鈥渟ignificant concerns鈥�.

Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted鈥檚 chief, claimed some trust leaders were 鈥減utting pressure鈥� on inspectors and making inspections 鈥渕ore adversarial鈥�.

Two trusts sent in seven extra staff, Schools Week has found. Another flooded one of its schools with 25.

Inspectors say the practice is impacting their ability to evaluate 鈥渘ormal practice鈥� at schools. One critic likened it to gaming.

But trusts say separating central leaders and schools 鈥渃ompletely misunderstands鈥� the point of MATs, stressing they are the same organisation. Extra support helps limit disruption and supports school staff, they say.

Schools Week 颈苍惫别蝉迟颈驳补迟别蝉鈥�

What are the different approaches?

Ofsted said it expects to 鈥渟ee a school as it operates on any other day鈥�, with inspectors expected to meet staff directly responsible for management and governance.

鈥淎s a minimum鈥� this would include a trust鈥檚 chief executive. But inspectors 鈥渨ill recognise鈥� that this could be more than one person if responsibilities were delegated.

The lead inspector would consult the school and trust to 鈥渄etermine鈥� who they needed to meet.

We sent freedom of information requests to the 20 largest trusts asking how many from their central team or elsewhere were present at their inspections last year.

Nine answered our query, another 10 said they didn鈥檛 hold the data. Nicholas Postgate Catholic Education Trust did not respond. 

United Learning, England鈥檚 largest trust, has a policy that the regional director responsible for the school, who is the head鈥檚 line manager, should be on site during an inspection.

 They represent the governance and leadership of the trust and provide support to heads, it said. Of its 16 inspections last year, two regional directors attended for five of them.

The Astrea Academies Trust, meanwhile, drafted 25 members of staff 鈥渨hose routine place of work鈥� was elsewhere into a February inspection at Longsands Academy in Cambridgeshire.

This included eight senior leaders from sister schools and four trust leaders. 

But the trust said the inspection took place when there was 鈥渁 live ballot for strike action鈥� so some staff were providing cover.

Limit inspection disruption

 Astrea said calling on support to 鈥渉elp prepare and to cover certain duties to limit the disruption the inspection causes to students鈥� experience鈥� was a benefit of being in a trust.

Ormiston Academies Trust, which has 44 academies, had nine inspections last year. One had seven additional staff attend, another two inspections had five. Four had no extra staff. 

For an April inspection of Sandymoor Ormiston Academy in Runcorn, the trust deployed five lead practitioners to support heads of department and provide capacity. 

Ormiston鈥檚 national director of secondary education also met inspectors, along with its head of data and analysis. 

Ofsted rated the school 鈥榞ood鈥�, up from a 鈥榬equires improvement鈥� judgment made before the trust took Sandymoor on.

GLF Schools sent at least four school improvement officers into each inspection last year.

Seven attended the October inspection of Southgate Primary School in West Sussex, which was upgraded from 鈥榠nadequate鈥� to 鈥榞ood鈥�.

Staff met the lead inspector and supported the head. They also supported a 鈥渘ew trust-wide curriculum鈥�, helped the school reading leader prepare and accompanied inspectors on learning walks, the trust said.

But Jeffrey Quaye, a former Ofsted lead inspector and national director of education and standards at Aspirations Academies Trust, said inspectors would want to check if it was 鈥渦sual practice鈥� for a school to have 鈥渦nusually large numbers of trust leadership teams in a school鈥� during an inspection.

鈥淚f that is contrary to what they do routinely, then that’s a question about 鈥榓re they not confident about the leadership of the school?鈥欌��

Julian Drinkall, the chief executive of GLF, said its academies received educational support throughout the year. This ranged from 鈥渦niversal鈥� support to 鈥渂espoke鈥�, based on which 鈥減riority groups鈥� the school fell in to.

鈥楢kin to gaming鈥�

Adrian Gray, an education consultant and former Ofsted inspector, said flooding a school with central team members for an inspection was akin to 鈥済aming鈥�.

鈥淵ou should not be able to manipulate the inspection by bringing in extra staff. It’s making the school not as it normally would be, and deliberately, just for the inspection.鈥�

Ofsted said a school鈥檚 leadership and management grade could be impacted if inspectors felt they were in any way being 鈥渋ntentionally prevented from seeing a school operate as normal鈥�.

鈥榊ou should not be able to manipulate an inspection鈥�

When asked if this had happened before, the watchdog said it did not think it was a 鈥渟ignificant issue鈥�.

Quaye added schools should provide the lead inspector with a list of any members of staff who did not routinely work at the school.

Tomas Thurogood-Hyde, Astrea鈥檚 director of corporate services, added: 鈥淲e are always fully open with Ofsted about who is on site and why, and there have never been any issues or concerns raised.鈥�

Support for heads 鈥榞ood practice鈥�

United Learning also said sending regional directors in to support heads during inspections was 鈥済ood practice鈥�, following a coroner鈥檚 finding that an Ofsted inspection contributed to the death of Caversham Primary head Ruth Perry.

Ormiston said it took responsibility for staff wellbeing 鈥渟eriously鈥� and, if requested by heads, sometimes provided 鈥渁dditional support for leaders as well as doing things like help with classroom cover, lunchtime duties or wider pastoral support鈥�.

The Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust has its academies group executive principal (AGEP), chief executive, deputy, and head of safeguarding in inspections last year.

Oliver Burwood, its chief executive, said this helped school office team members with 鈥渘erve-wracking鈥� Ofsted data checks.

His executive heads鈥� capacity was often spread across three to four schools, so the trust added extra 鈥渓ayers of support鈥� to help make the system work.

鈥榃e鈥檙e not going in classrooms changing things鈥�

 Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) said it limited additional staff to those 鈥渟pecifically required鈥� by inspectors. 

The 40-school trust sent between two to four central team members to its inspections last year, which covered the period that Oliver was in charge of the trust.

The staff 鈥渢ypically maintain their usual office-based roles to avoid disrupting the school’s natural dynamics鈥�, an OGAT spokesperson said. 

Oxford Diocesan Schools sent one additional staff member to each of its inspections last year. 

鈥榃e are in the building to make sure that leaders are OK鈥�

Anne Dellar, its chief executive, said leaders were 鈥渘ot going into classrooms鈥� or 鈥渃hanging things鈥�.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really high stakes for leaders鈥�We are in the building not to flood the school (with people), but to make sure that leaders are OK 鈥� they are part of a team and we support them.鈥�

鈥淧eople think if MAT central team people turn up, we are changing the outcome of inspection. We鈥檙e not, we are living the inspection of the school because it鈥檚 our school.鈥�

Steve Rollett, the deputy chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, said that trying to separate shared trust staff from schools 鈥渃ompletely misunderstands the point of school trusts: the trust is the school, and the school is the trust. 

鈥淭hey are the same organisation, and simply because someone working on curriculum or data may not have an office in a school does not stop them being an integral part of what teachers and pupils there do every day.鈥�

Inspectors have 鈥榮ignificant concerns鈥�

Some central team staff will have now been involved in dozens of inspections over the past few years.

Burwood said having central staff in inspections was 鈥渞eally helpful鈥� on the 鈥渞are occasions鈥� they were needed to 鈥減ush back on inspectors鈥� behaviour鈥�.

鈥淚t should be a typical day [in the school], but typically, our headteachers do a wonderful job.

鈥淲e want to support them to show the work that they do and not be blindsided by an inspection process, which can be really, really stressful.鈥�

But inspectors have 鈥渟ignificant concerns鈥�.

Last month Oliver claimed that some trust leaders were 鈥減utting pressure on inspectors and making the inspection process more adversarial鈥�.

Matt Newman, national officer for Ofsted at the FDA union, which represents HMIs, told Schools Week drafting trust staff in was 鈥渁n issue our members have experienced and have significant concerns about鈥�.

鈥淚f the settings for inspections are employing these kind of tactics 鈥� making substantial changes on inspection days, when 鈥榥ormal practice鈥� is what鈥檚 meant to be evaluated 鈥� it鈥檚 difficult to see how our members can do their jobs effectively.鈥�

鈥楺uestions equitability of inspections鈥�

Tom Middlehurst, the ASCL leaders鈥� union’s Ofsted expert, said it was 鈥渞easonable鈥� for inspectors to look at whether the number of trust staff on site was necessary.

But there was 鈥渘o hard and fast rule鈥� because trusts were structured and operated in different ways.

鈥淭his could raise questions about the equitability of inspections because smaller trusts and maintained schools may not have access to the same level of support.鈥� 

Kent County Council, England鈥檚 largest local authority, said it did not not draft staff into schools during inspections.

But Liz Robinson, the chief executive at the Big Education Trust, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like that didn鈥檛 happen before there were MATs, because it did.

鈥淎s a local authority head, nothing stops you bringing all your mates in who are local authority heads or lead inspectors [for the council].鈥�

MATs were just using their resources 鈥渢o do well at the game that they have to play. Does that make that unfair for other people? Yes, bigger trusts have more resources.鈥�

‘A cliff-edge experience’

Keziah Featherstone, who co-chairs the Headteachers Roundtable policy group, said the practice also showed Ofsted was 鈥渟till an absolute cliff edge experience鈥� for leaders.

鈥淭oo much is at risk, so you try and mitigate as many risks as possible.鈥� 

Ormiston also said using central staff for cover was 鈥済ood for staff, more cost effective and better for pupils鈥�.

Loic Menzies, a policy expert, said the the question was “whether that advantage [large trusts have] is a true reflection of the advantage that being in the trust offers them 鈥� or a cosmetic exercise to help them secure a good inspection?鈥�

Labour has pledged to introduce trust inspections, but it is not a priority. Ofsted has also consulted on how best to inspect groups of schools.

Menzies added: 鈥淧erhaps this is yet another reason why we need a proper system of trust inspection that delves into the true quality of support that a trust offers its schools 鈥� and the system as a whole.鈥�