Earlier this month a group of FE professionals from provisions all over the country went to Ofsted HQ to discuss FE matters with sector boss Paul Joyce HMI. This is the third such meeting that the UKFEchat community have had with Ofsted leadership and these get-togethers have been hugely valuable for all involved. The point of the meetings is to engage in frank dialogue, to get clarification on specific issues and to dispel myths. The UKFEchat crowd have built a community both online and in person where debate is welcomed and attack is swiftly booted out. The Ofsted meetings are no different.
Though there’d been much online communication in advance, on this occasion most UKFEchat pals hadn’t previously met each other in person. So we gathered in Ofsted HQ reception beforehand to dither with some “shall we hug or shake hands” awkwardness. Once that was out of the way, the group swiftly unified as one team through laughter and epic travel stories. Of course, the quicktime bonding wasn’t just because we all had the FE thing in common. It was because in the eyes of some, Ofsted are the enemy and we were on their turf. Though we weren’t there for a rumble, the weight of that negative perception is hard to shake off.
Some will tell us that Ofsted exist solely to slap us about, shove our faces down the bog and nick our dinner money. Some have made telling us this their life’s mission. Only thing is, nowadays it’s just not true. One of the reasons that we were even in the building was because, as a cross-section of people working in a range of roles over a range of colleges, Ofsted were just as keen to hear our view on the sector and our day-to-day challenges as we were to get answers. They welcome dialogue and they are listening.
What’s the point of Ofsted?
The first thing we have to clear up is who exactly who Ofsted works for. There isn’t some cigar-puffing Baron Greenback type silhouetted in a darkened room, nor is the government pulling their strings. It’s not unreasonable to think that because they know stuff about FE that they work for us as educators. They don’t. Ofsted works for our students and their families.
When we’re looking to make school choices for our own kids, we know what the point of Ofsted is. It’s clear that they exist for us as parents and for our kids. In that context we get why we need an independent body, free from bias or a conflict of interests to assess quality of provision. Without them it would be battle of PR and marketing rather than something more substantial.
And while we know that almost everybody who works in schools and colleges are working their backsides off to do their best for the people they serve, almost everybody isn’t good enough. There is the odd teacher who can’t be arsed and who shouldn’t be there; the odd manager whose motives and integrity are at best questionable. Almost everybody isn’t good enough. Not if I’ve trusted them with my kid’s education. Not if others are trusting us with their kids’ education.
Many people assign too much power to Ofsted. They’re not there to dictate what we should be doing, but assess what it is our moral and professional responsibility to provide, with or without their say so. We just need to get on with being the best we can be, doing the things that we know we should do; namely, moving each student forward with their own personalised education and training requirements, removing barriers to learning through pastoral support, and planning a clear progression route to a positive destination.
Ofsted isn’t perfect, but neither is FE
We know there are issues with what we are expected to do in FE. Take English and maths. How can FE be expected to pick up the slack in 36 weekly sessions that schools haven’t cracked in 11 years? The odds are against us. But not to try? That would be outrageous. English and maths underpin everything. Vocational and academic subjects are hugely valuable but if a student doesn’t have a basic grasp of basic skills at bare minimum, progressing into work will be an uphill struggle.
Maybe in the old days there was an idea that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate was the edu-equivalent of the Terminator but a bit less chatty, programmed specifically to catch us out. But that is not the case now, or certainly not the image that Ofsted leadership is projecting and supporting. Inspectors walk and talk and know about FE. Paul Joyce HMI knows about FE because, having been in a number of teaching and managerial roles in colleges, he has walked in our shoes.
But how can we make sure that Ofsted gets a true reading of what we do? Classroom observations are just one part of that and Ofsted have heard and understood the snapshot metaphor. Student views, professional dialogue and achievement data with as much surrounding info as possible to add colour to those numbers are vital for inspectors to get an accurate view of teaching and learning. We should supply a broad evidence base, by building a picture of each individual’s growth and contribution, and by giving context.
It’s no good showing an inspector your dodgy stats and then frantically telling everyone who’ll listen that “it’s not fair because the inspector doesn’t know the context” IF YOU HAVEN’T TOLD THE INSPECTOR THAT CONTEXT. There may be a bundle of totally valid reasons why your data doesn’t have a ReadyBrek glow. If HMI doesn’t know that then of course all HMI will see are the dodgy stats. So hit them with a wall of information, whether that’s from a whole college or a classroom perspective.
Ofsted isn’t perfect but neither is our sector. Each UKFEchat meeting at Ofsted HQ reinforces the idea that instead of raging against the machine, it’s far more productive to have a chat with it. So speak up.
Sarah Simons works in FE colleges in the East Midlands. She tweets at @MrsSarahSimons
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