Schools slated for inspection this week will have all deferral requests approved, Ofsted has said, following the culmination last week of Ruth Perry’s inquest. A coroner concluded that an Ofsted inspection at Caversham Primary School contributed to the headteacher’s death. She is also preparing to issue a regulation 28 report setting out the action that should be taken to prevent future tragedies. This week is the last in which visits are due to take place before the Christmas break. But Ofsted said tonight it would “use our existing deferral policy to give headteachers the ability to defer their inspection to the new year, if they don鈥檛 want it to go ahead this week”. Pressed on whether this meant all deferral requests from schools would be approved, Ofsted confirmed this was the case. “We will explain this when we make the notification calls tomorrow. It鈥檚 important that school inspections continue, in the interests of children and parents 鈥� but we are determined to work sensitively with headteachers and their staff.鈥� Complaints hotline and training Deferrals are Ofsted had delayed all inspections due this week by one day so lead inspectors could attend training today. Ruth Perry After the inquest concluded last week, Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman apologised to Perry鈥檚 family, and also said a new complaints hotline would be set up for schools to report any concerns about their inspection to a senior official from this week. Training will be drawn up on 鈥渞ecognising and responding to visible signs of anxiety鈥�. The watchdog will 鈥渂e clear鈥� with its teams what to do if visits need to be paused mid-inspection. The spokesperson said this evening officials 鈥渁re immediately introducing a number of measures that we described last week and talked through with our lead inspectors today鈥�. Unions call for inspection pause 鈥淲e are developing new training for all inspectors, to include external experts, that will take place in early January. 鈥淭hese measures address several areas of concern set out by the coroner. When we receive the coroner鈥檚 report we will urgently address all remaining issues.鈥� IT comes after Geoff Barton and Paul Whiteman, general secretaries of the Association of School and College Leaders and National Association of Head Teachers, urged Ofsted to immediately pause all visits. In a joint statement, they said: 鈥淭his is necessary for schools and colleges to have even a modicum of confidence in the inspectorate. 鈥淭he coroner set out seven areas of concern for her regulation 28 report鈥t is important that we have clarity from Ofsted about a plan and timetable to address each area before further inspections take place.鈥� A Department for Education spokesperson said: 鈥淔ollowing the inquest,聽it’s right that Ofsted is giving schools the choice to defer inspections until January, as an extension of their existing deferrals policy.鈥� They added “we will work with [Ruth’s] family and Ofsted聽to build on her legacy, ensuring the inspection system supports students and teachers”.
TC 11 December 2023 Fundamental change is what is needed not just TLC. Drop inspectors who have no experience of leading a whole school. Drop single word judgements. Listen to Headteachers about how to inspect or audit schools. We are the people who can help you get this right.
S. Turner 12 December 2023 Inspecting schools the week before Xmas (or any other) holiday when everyone is demob happy was always an OFSTED practice for a school they had previously identified as a failing school.
Peter Chambers 12 December 2023 I dont think this week is “the last in which inspections are due to take place before the Christmas break” We had an inspection last week and the HMI told us that they were not looking forward to Tuesday 19th as they were having to ring a school and norify them of an inspetion on the last Wednesday and Thursday of term
Catherine Maslova 12 December 2023 Training (especially only for one day) is NOT enough. Ofsted has, throughout its tenure, shown total insensitivity, poor judgment, arrogance and inspectors without teaching experience. I am an ex-teacher whose exit from teaching was certainly helped by this organisation.
JM 12 December 2023 They are putting a sticking plaster on an inspection system that does not support or develop those working in the education sector. For someone to take their own life due to the extreme pressure and insensitivity of those inspecting/delivering verdicts on a snapshot of school life should undergo major reform. Schools need to be held accountable but how this is done needs to be urgently reviewed. So sad that this could have been avoided.