Ofsted Inspection - Headteacher off sick

[JamieOliveOil]

My DCs school is being inspected - today and tomorrow. The Headteacher has been off for a few months on long-term sick leave.

I spoke to one of the Inspectors today - she approached me in the playground at random - and specifically asked for my views on the schools difficulties with management. I answered honestly and said the acting Head was doing a great job, following on from the example and processes set by the Head who is off sick.

I'm worried that the management issues may have an adverse impact on the Ofsted grading. Having read threads on MN recently, many people are reporting that Inspections are tougher.

Can anyone offer any insight please?

[TalkinPeace2]

It ALL depends on the heads Illness - if its stress ......
if its an actual malady (cancer etc) then there should be no problem

[JamieOliveOil]

It's stress.

[TalkinPeace2]

then worry, sadly. Ofsted will want to know what in the running of the school has caused the stress.
Only in the public sector do people get more than a week off with "stress"

[Frikadellen]

OP when the primary my children attended was ofsted inspected in 2009 it was with a temp head. I do not feel it had any effect towards the actual report. If your interested I am happy to pm you the school so you can find the report on their website. We are waiting for the next one as they were inspected last week so will be interesting to see if they feel there is any difference.

I seem to remember the last report said that the head was temporary and working well (though I am not so sure all parents agreed)

[spammertime]

Talkin, that is bollocks. It may be more prevalent in the public sector (I don't know though), but I work for one of the "big 4" accountancy firms. A colleague has finally come to an arrangement to leave the firm after taking over 9 months of paid sick leave for "stress". And unlike the job of a headteacher, her job was definitely not stressful - she was just crap. But that's another story!

[JamieOliveOil]

I'm worried now - the thing is, the school has come on leaps and bounds and overall I'm really happy with it. It used to have an awful reputation but with years of hard work, it has really improved - so much so that it's the most subscribed school for a few miles, with current waiting lists for most year groups.

talkinpeace May I ask why Ofsted would look on it so negatively? I feel that although the Head is a great person and teacher, I don't think they are Headteacher material ie not strong at managing people, always wanting to please everyone which sometimes results in pleasing no-one. That's why I understand they are off - pressure from parents about various issues and the pending Ofsted inspection.

Frika I'd be really grateful if you could PM me those details

[mumblesmum]

She might be stressed because of something happening in her personal life. What business would Ofsted have with that?

[ASByatt]

OFSTED will of course be looking closely at the management, but I can't see why or how they would be investigating the cause of the absent HT's stress, Talkin?

[TalkinPeace2]

Basing my posts on what I have read in the many ofsted reports I've read about schools DH goes to, cross referenced with his views afterwards.

Stress never comes from nowhere.
People are either promoted beyond their own competence (spammer's point)
Undermined from below
or not supported from above.
In a school situation this is a clear sign of weakness somewhere in the system and as the children are only in year 4 once, has to be dealt with as swiftly as possible.
Ofsted will want to know what changes/improvements have been made to enable the head to return
or what steps are being taken to find them another position
but limbo is good for nobody

[clam]

Well, I would say, who cares about Ofsted in this case. You are happy with the school, your child is happy, the acting head is filling in without causing concern to parents, there are waiting lists for each yeargroup... Why should you care what Ofsted thinks?

[JamieOliveOil]

Ok, thanks for explaining. I'm pretty sure that the Head's absence is due to stress. A member of staff has confided that the Head has found one or two Parents particularly challenging and has taken those comments to heart.

Also, the school is going through a period of considerable transition, mostly due to its improved status, which, no doubt, has been thoroughly stressful and consuming.

Also, the Head has been off with stress in the past, although they were not Head at the time. Presumably there's no reaon Ofsted would know about this??

[Hulababy]

Only in the public sector do people get more than a week off with "stress"

That is simply not true. Have known of people in the private sector on long term sick for stress and stress related illnesses.

[ASByatt]

Hula 'Only in the public sector do people get more than a week off with "stress"

That is simply not true.'

I absolutely agree. I find it quite an odd thing for someone to believe, actually.

[TalkinPeace2]

I stand corrected for big businesses but small business cannot afford such luxuries. They deal with the stress in one of the ways I said above.

NB
If the head teacher has personal issues that are causing the stress, the fact that they have spilled over into work is a
failure of support from above
and it will be interesting to see how many Academy heads cope without the LEA net in the years to come ....

[weedonleg]

having scoured about 50 ofsted reports over the last couple of weeks in search of a new primary school I have to say there does seem to be a correlation between schools where the headteacher is off sick on the day of inspection and a satisfactory rather than a good ofsted.

[PotteringAlong]

Anecdotal evidence suggests that, even though in theory 'satisfactory' still exists; since the announcement it will be scrapped ofsted are not using it and if you're not outstanding or good you will be given notice to improve.

[mummytime]

I think the school is likely to get a not very good grade for leadership and management, and the Governors are likely to be looked at closely.

[lagoonhaze]

Does it matter? Like clam said you are happy with school. Ofsted is just a flawed report process

[Chandon]

was just going to say something, but Clam already said it!

[jamdonut]

If you are happy with the school as it is,why would an adverse Ofsted report worry you?
Or do you not like the thought of your children being linked to a "special measures" school?

Remember that once a school is in special measures, it has money and resources thrown at it left,right and centre,which is a good thing. The only thing that might happen in the immediate future is a turnover in staff. And clampdowns on attendance etc.

[ragged]

What others said, not sure why OP cares so much about Ofsted report. Tis 85% mega bollux.

[TalkinPeace2]

jamdonut
once a school is in special measures, it has money and resources thrown at it left,right and centre
ONLY if it is an LEA school.
Academies are high and dry unless they can persuade Whitehall to help them out
or have the budget

OP
as the others have said - Ofsted has very little bearing on the happiness of your child.

[JamieOliveOil]

Yes, I do care about Ofsted results and no I don't want my DCs at a school in Special Measures. I don't think there's anything wrong in saying that.

The School historically has had a poor reputation and even though it's super popular now, people still question why I send my DCs there.

I feel that the school would be treated harshly if they were given a lower grading due to the Headteacher's absence but, equally, I understand how important leadership is in a school and that the Inspectors would perhaps feel that the Head's absence is a big issue.

Thanks for the input so far.

[PastSellByDate]

Hi JamieOliveOil:

You've said that the school is making improvements - so keep that thought.

My feeling is that OFSTED don't just consider one thing, but the whole picture. Sure it's just a snapshot, but they'll be looking to see that the children are making appropriate progress, that intervention (helping children who are struggling or identifying SEN) is taking place and that they are differentiating work.

I absolutely understand that you'd rather not see your DC's school go into special measures - but OFSTED would only make such a ruling if they were truly failing the children.

I think the way to think about it is that OFSTED are there on behalf of the taxpayer (who are funding the education of the next generation) to ensure that the children in your particular school are being taught to a reasonable standard. That's what they're looking for - regardless of whether the Head is present or not - the school has to be delivering this day in and day out.

I know it can be a worrying thing - I was worried our school would get OUTSTANDING, apparently once you're awarded that you are no longer inspected now unless SATs drop radically - but many of us felt that although the school was clearly good, it did have some serious failings and clearly was pulling out all the stops in the run-up to the inspections (and I can add have happily gone back to forgetting to send out spellings, math homework, send home books, etc... now that OFSTED have gone. They've completely stopped with all the on-line programmes they rushed in before OFSTED as well, which has really confused the kids, because some of them really liked the on-line maths tutorials and Bug Club books).

My experience of a recent inspection was that OFSTED were tough but fair. I'm sure that doesn't help - but if your school does go into special measures remember that's about OFSTED saying the school needs to do better by the pupils. My advice is go to campaign for real education: www.cre.org.uk/primary_contents.html - look up the curriculum for the year of your DC and if your DC isn't covering that material, then even though this is 'ideal world' stuff, there's still a problem.

[TalkinPeace2]

The positive way to look at it is that a school in special measures is actively dealing with things and seeking to improve.
The vast bulk of schools that go in come out the other side within two terms happier places
I say that both from the head of my kids school being sent to help out at one such and DH having been to every type of school you can think of.
For the parents who do not run away when the announcement is made a team spirit emerges which can ONLY be good for your children.