Heads condemn DfE move to accelerate Ofsted inspections

Headteachers say the government’s decision to give Ofsted extra funding to carry out more inspections show that its has “strange ideas” about the priorities for Covid education recovery.

Teachers’ and school leaders’ unions have criticised a decision to give the inspectorate an extra £23.8 million through the Spending Review so it can inspect all schools by summer 2025.

Ofsted said today this was being done to allow it to provide a quicker assessment of how well education is recovering from the pandemic.

News: Ofsted gets more funding to inspect all schools by 2025

Demand: DfE is urged to halt graded inspections amid concerns over headteacher’s wellbeing

Criticism: Teachers’ leader says Ofsted is a ‘reign of terror’

But union leaders have questioned this decision.

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We have to say that the government has some strange ideas about the priority for education recovery.

“It isn’t Ofsted inspections that will help children to catch-up with lost learning caused by the pandemic, but ensuring that schools and colleges have sufficient funding from the government to deliver recovery programmes at the scale required.

“However, the government hasn’t committed anything like the level of investment that is needed for this task, although it has managed to find an extra £23.85 million to spend on inspections.

“At the moment, many schools and colleges are still dealing with the disruption caused by the pandemic, and the prospect of also having to deal with a visit from an inspection team isn’t particularly helpful.”

‘Adding to the stress’

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said that the government had shown little “understanding” of the realities for schools in increasing funding to ramp up inspections.

Dr Bousted said: “Inadequate inspections, whether accelerated or not, will not give parents confidence about school and college quality.

“Acceleration will require the recruitment of additional inspectors - adding to the considerable concern already expressed by school leaders about the quality of the current inspectorate. 

“Government ministers are showing, yet again, that they have no understanding of the exhaustion and stress felt by teachers and leaders. Inspection adds hugely to the stress they face coping with high rates of Covid infection in schools and colleges, and with an inspectorate that has failed to understand, or appreciate, that Covid is still causing huge problems in our education system.” 

Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “Given the pressure schools are currently under and the recent calls to pause inspections this term, the announcement today of more to come feels completely tone-deaf.

“Schools have adapted with the times to respond to the impact of Covid, but Ofsted appears to be stuck in the past - dusting off a pre-pandemic inspection framework with little recognition that the world around them has changed.

“We are still a very long way from business as usual in schools. Ofsted seems to be unwilling to properly take into account the very significant challenges schools are still facing, as well as the impact Covid has had.

“Rather than thinking about how it can increase the number of inspections that take place, Ofsted should be concentrating on how best to support and inspect schools in a post-lockdown world, helping them focus on ensuring educational recovery for every child, and ensuring that schools are happy, safe spaces for pupils.

“When it comes to inspection, more of the same is an inadequate response to the challenges of today.”

An ‘up-to-date picture’ for parents

Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: “Nobody underestimates the scale of the challenge schools, colleges and other education providers have experienced through the pandemic.

“But it has also provided an opportunity to build back better and fairer, doubling down on our mission to make sure every child has the opportunity to achieve their potential.

“Accelerating the rate of Ofsted inspections over the coming years will provide parents with an up-to-date picture and swifter recognition of the hard work of leaders and teachers.”

The increased funding for Ofsted comes after the government has faced repeated calls to scale back or halt inspections because of the impact of the Covid pandemic.

ASCL has said that schools should be able to halt inspections on request, while the NAHT called for inspections to be paused.

The support service Headrest wrote to Mr Zahawi calling for graded inspections to be halted last month because of concerns about the impact these are having on school leaders’ wellbeing, but says it has yet to receive a reply.

Speaking for Headrest, former head and academy trust leader Ros McMullen said: “It was a very serious situation when we wrote to the education secretary and it is even more serious now.

“We are hearing from and supporting colleagues who are going under and who are thinking of now leaving the profession because of inappropriate inspections from Ofsted. Graded inspections of schools is simply inappropriate at this time in the pandemic.”