To think criticisms of the new Ofsted ratings are self-serving?

Schools get audited. And hygiene inspections. And JCQ inspections without notice. And section 48/SIAMS inspections if they're a faith school. And the LA can arrive for a safeguarding inspection without notice.

I was also very uncomfortable with how the tragic death of Ruth Perry was used in discussions about Ofsted's future. It felt very opportunistic to me.

The most prominent person who fought hard to have these discussions was Ruth Perry's sister, Julia Waters.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-67660350

I completely agree with this post. As a parent I want to see the same level of scrutiny as for instance CQC. I'm not saying external inspections can't be improved, but I want to know exactly how a school is being led, what this means for performance and the happiness and care of pupils and staff.

If anyone else would like to cast doubt on the role of Ofsted in the suicide of Ruth Perry, you could read this first

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-67612233

A quick Google tells me that Finland (often held up as an example for its education system) has... no inspection system.

There you go. Proof that it doesn't have to be like that, and that other countries do not necessarily seem to need to operate like that. And is our school system better as a result of this biased, dehumanising, and inaccurate way of inspecting? Is it?

No one denies that safeguarding is important, but the system that contributed to Ruth Perry committing suicide was utterly and unnecessarily cruel and changes have been made in response.

There was an inquiry which concluded that the Ofsted inspection contributed to her suicide. It's a matter of public record, and important to acknowledge for prevention of future deaths.

This bothers me too. Ruth Perry’s suicide was a tragedy and I feel desperately sad for her family and loved ones. But keeping children safe is the absolute basic priority ahead of everything else and if a school can’t show they’re doing that then the maths teaching etc hardly matters.

Also my understanding of the Samaritans advice on reporting of suicide isn’t to suggest that one cause led to someone taking their own life.

Completly agree with you, inspectors bring bias.
I am a governor at a federated infants and juniors, who had ofsteds within a few weeks of each other. The juniors sailed through with an outstanding when we were more uncertain, it was a requires improvement and best hope was felt to be a 'good'. The infants which was a good and we felt very confident that it would be marked outstanding but came out as a 'good', the inspector seemed to take objection with how confident the head was with the schools provision and implied she should be more humble. With a child in both I would say the infants is definitely better and deserved an outstanding.

Social services

I’m a farmer and even we have annual inspections. The inspectors come and check our paperwork and animals. If anything was terribly wrong we would be stopped from looking after animals and that would be quite right. However OFSTED aren’t like that. The judgements are often made before the inspectors leave their office. It’s all based on SATs and exam results.

Thank God I never have to be inspected ever again. Fuck all these people who have driven poor teachers to insanity.

You don't know what you're talking about here. The inspection system was the problem, not Ruth Perry's ability to handle stress. There were several factors that formed part of the inspection system that contributed towards her suicide that have changed in response.

They are necessary despite clearly having an sort of unspoken underwritten consensus that they 'can be flawed / inaccurate..'

It’s not the sharing of information that is the problem; it is the quality of the information that is shared.

Every suicide is a tragedy.

That doesn't mean that schools shouldn't have a robust inspection regime like most other public services do.

It may be that the regime should be looked at to ensure it isn't unduly punitive, but the ability to handle the stress of heading an organisation under inspection is part of leadership. There should be support and training given to how best to manage it, but ultimately, it's part of the job.

But I thought schools were told how to improve.

The secondary school my DD is in knew what they needed to do to improve their OFSTED ratings and are working towards that. Infact for a state school, they have made major improvements over the past 5 years.

I think that it’s important for parents to have everything they need to know about a school - the only way to publish this information is to make it public. I usually find only those that are interested will look it up anyway.

Also it’s public service. Surely we are entitled to see public information about schools as a tax payer. The same way I can access information about public hospitals which helps me to make a decision about my health care.

Should we be putting an entirely preventable suicide of a headteacher caused by the school inspection system 'into perspective'?

People really don't know what they're talking about.

The crux of this inspection issue is that it is simply a judgement when what is really needed is an assessment coupled with support and funding to improve those areas where a school is struggling.

I guess we can all dream .... but, hang on a minute ..... that is what we had before the OfSted system was introduced. LA funded inspectors who developed a relationship with each school and had access to funds from an LA education department (yes these used to thrive!) to provide support. But hey ... let's just judge then bugger off .....

Ofsted is only part of the problem. The whole thing needs overhauled including league tables and funding. They were all part of the late 1980s initiative to improve state schools and arguably worked. They are now outdated and place all accountability on the school and teachers instead of parents and students.

30,000 teachers lessons is sad, but let's out it into perspective.

In state schools 8.8% of teachers leave annually.

13% of prison officers leave annually. Inspected.
11% of nurses. Inspected.
17% social workers. Inspected.

I'm happy for schools not to be in competition when there is nothing to choose between them. When they have vastly different ethos, standards, outcomes (even whilst being in the same area), then absolutely I want to know. Just the same as there's no way I'd put a relative in a care home without reading the CQC report.

Prisons get inspected by Ofsted and usually get absolutely slated. They judged on the same level as sixth form and further education colleges. It's diabolical. It's considered a decent result if they scrape requires improvement.

I’m a teacher here in Australia. The last audit I went through here was actually quite positive. Our leadership team shared the inspectorate’s recommendations with us, which included praise for what we were doing well and guidance as to the improvements they’d like to see on their next visit. Staff meetings were then spent collaborating on an action plan with achievable goals and everyone seemed to feel positive, even excited, about it.

I also went through two Ofsted inspections when I taught in the UK. They were demoralising and dehumanising - just a team of professional bullies descending on the school to swing their power around. I was appalled that children’s education was used as an arena to indulge these sorts of power displays.

If you are a parent who cares about their child’s education, then which do you prefer: a competent inspectorate that works with the school to be the best it can be, or Billy Big Balls inspectors sweeping in with the threat of Unsatisfactory and the power to do as they please?

Auditors.

At any rate, nothing has changed and I’m surprised people thought it would. It looks like exemplary is the new outstanding!