Time for Change
The outcome of the recent coroner’s inquest into the death of Headteacher, Ruth Perry, has understandably been a hugely evocative time for school leaders. It is of course hard to imagine how difficult a time this has been for Ruth Perry’s family, friends and everyone associated with Caversham Primary School. I know they have the deepest condolences of the whole of the teaching profession.
Throughout my long career I have always found primary schools to be heavily populated with good, honest, caring people. People who simply want to do the best for their pupils and the wider school community. The fact that we have such a committed workforce who exude moral purpose at every turn is our biggest strength. Unfortunately, it is also our Achilles Heel. The teachers and leaders whose goodwill constantly props up the sector have fallen into the trap of allowing themselves to be subjected to a system of inspection that is simply not fit for purpose. Indeed, it can be argued that it has never been fit since its inception. From the early days of Ofsted that witnessed schools being invaded by sizeable teams of Inspectors for the best part of a week, to the slimmed down small team, two-day version that exists today, it has always been flawed.
At this point it is important to stress that I am not trying to advocate an education system which is devoid of any form of external evaluation at all. Like the vast majority of headteachers I welcome accountability. Why wouldn’t we? We are all about progress, improvement and high expectations. We are driven by ambition and above all else we have the huge responsibility of playing a significant part in the development of the very people who will shape our future. It would therefore be remiss of us not to accept challenge and to actively seek out checks and balances. I know leaders in our profession are generally people who continually ask themselves if they are doing enough? Are they doing it right? Could they do it better? And they want to find the answers to these questions.
So, if there is some appetite for a system of scrutiny then why is the current Ofsted framework generally not valued and so unpopular. In my opinion it is simply down to the premise upon which it is founded. It is a process that is ‘done to us’ and not ‘with us that makes the framework unsound. As a result, a culture of fear has developed around Ofsted. The high stakes involved encourage schools to try and play the game, anxious to avoid being caught out. With leaders focusing upon short cuts to simply avoid criticism desirable long term sustainable success is derailed. The inspection process is not welcomed because whatever way they dress it up it has never been about celebration and development. The context is about fault finding with the onus on the school to provide evidence or proof of effectiveness.
Having now acquired knowledge based upon my involvement with numerous Inspections I could also go on about the credibility of the Inspectors at considerable length. That, however, is far too easy a target. While I do have serious concerns about the relevant experience that some Inspectors have, in truth, it isn’t hard to tell if a school is any good or not. Some initial discussions with the Leadership Team, brief observations of every teacher and talking to pupils quickly paint a picture. Within a few hours an accurate assessment can be made.
In the late 1980’s the perceived issue of deteriorating behaviour in schools resulted in the government of the day commissioning a huge survey of schools under the direction of Lord Elton. Hundreds of schools were visited, and information collected for the 283 page ‘Elton Report’. Once all the evidence had been collated it concluded most notably that:
“When we visited schools we were struck by the differences in their 'feel' or atmosphere. Our conversations with teachers left us convinced that some schools have a more positive atmosphere than others. It was in these positive schools that we tended to see the work and behaviour which impressed us most.
This feel or atmosphere was apparent within minutes of walking in the building.
A new Inspection framework should not lose sight of this. The first change to any new version should be to remove the word Inspection and replace it with something more suitable that sets the tone. A Research Study or Development Visit would be a starting point. From there an honest dialogue with the headteacher and the involvement in the team of someone who is currently doing the job at a similar setting, would make massive inroads into the negative culture that exists. In fact, I would go as far to say that every headteacher who has 5 years in post at the same setting should be required to be part of a visiting team. Just imagine how powerful that professional development would be!
The last thing that I want to become is the ‘old man yells at cloud’ meme from the Simpsons that captures the anger and impatience of people in their later years who struggle to deal with change and become frustrated. But come on! Enough is enough! We have a line in the sand. A new year, a new head of Ofsted and an understanding that the old regime should not continue.
We have a chance. Let us take it before it is too late.