Ofsted needs to be abolished (Trigger warning)

[MrsMurphyIWish]

Watched this heartbreaking story today:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001k4r9

A headteacher took her own life as her school was rated inadequate. The pressures Ofsted creates are immense. Last week Ofsted were on strike Wednesday so decided to break protocol and rang schools Friday to conduct inspections on Monday - some schools were off for snow but that wasn’t a good enough reasons and even if the messages were picked up, that meant school staff would have worries over the weekend - some even going into school. Then there were schools who complained as these schools were given “extra notice”. Ofsted has created such a toxic work environment.

How has it come to this? A teacher who dedicated their life to education feels that a one word judgement meant life wasn’t worth living?

Where on earth did you get this idea from, @Colourfingers2?! A link would be great.

This is it. A massive bureaucratic exercise which teachers can’t say no to, for fear of not seeming to be hard working or conscientious enough or worse being considered unsatisfactory and losing their self esteem or their job. It’s ridiculous.
And funny how, years ago, some of us managed to get a great education without the teachers writing all this nonsense down.

Ofsted, a few years ago when Sean Harford was director, published their Ofsted Myths document which told teachers they didn't need to do detailed lesson plans, triple marking, all the stuff that teachers at the time were doing because they thought Ofsted wanted to see it. I think that genuinely helped.

Then the framework review changed to have the new focus on curriculum with the deep dives, and it's all gone utterly mad again.

Trying to figure out exactly what Ofsted want to see is a huge industry.

And funny how, years ago, some of us managed to get a great education without the teachers writing all this nonsense down.
This ^^
I do think some closer scrutiny than there used to be is good. I think progress 8 is better than 5A*-C as plenty of children didn't reach their potential because schools were obsessed with the C/D borderline.
I'm also happy for the bar to be raised where schools can't get away with writing off children from disadvantaged areas or students with SEN. Thinking to my own school days, there were definitely some groups of students who weren't expected to achieve very much.

The current system is awful though and is leading to a culture of bloated management in schools all trying to justify their inflated salary.

Sometimes senior leadership in schools are driving the myths. They look in a few exercise books as part of monitoring teaching and learning. It’s probably not their own subject and notes are partial because kids in school don’t spend the whole lesson writing. So senior leadership can’t tell what’s going on from the few exercise books, therefore devise all these systems of writing out complicated targets/improvements etc which might be good in theory but are a nightmare to actually carry out

Trying to figure out exactly what Ofsted want to see is a huge industry.

Absolutely-I get countless emails about (eye-wateringly expensive) courses I could sign up to telling me how to get ‘Ofsted’ ready in my subject. Schools and academy trusts pay large sums of money for ‘mock’ inspections to try to keep their Good grading. There are lots of people out there making huge amounts of money out of the fear of Ofsted. The system is very broken.

I hope what happened at Caversham is the catalyst for real reform here.

@JussathoB and that's exactly the problem. Some people got a good education years ago, and some people wasted years in years in classrooms being taught badly, incompletely or just plain wrongly and there was no comeback at all. Speaking as one of the latter I don't want a return to the days where each school just does its own thing, where the art teacher teaches her own special version of science, where the history is "taught" by copying out text books word for word.

I am all for reform of OFSTED, I have no problem at all with schools and teachers having to work to some quality assured standards.

I agree. Of course there should be a process for ensuring safety, high quality teaching, consistency.
what some of us are saying is that the current system of Ofsted is problematic and a lot of effort, time and resources are devoted to doing certain things which are not actually that helpful to the children

I don't want a return to the days where each school just does its own thing

No, I don’t think that will ever happen.

According to the article in the Times, it was to do with a member of staff from overseas, so a full safeguarding check wasn't possible. There should have been evidence of a risk assessment. Really not enough for someone to take their life over!

It's right that schools and teachers are measured.

I very much doubt it will be abolished but drastic reform is required on the level of a paradigm shift. I don't know who schools aren't following following Flora Cooper's courageous lead and refusing to comply with OFSTED's request for an inspection - simply refuse them entry until a reformed system had been put in place.

Nobody has said that accountability and inspections should be removed entirely. Just that they are not fit for purpose in their current form and with their current output.

Annual audit of safeguarding procedures (like a financial audit - low key, routine, expert, with short and longer term actions that drive improvement) - absolutely.

Regular monitoring of teaching and learning of all pupils, including behaviour management and school leadership - also absolutely, if not driven by politics, if done by experts in the age range, if followed up by support, if based on strong evidence and if nuanced and reproducible in its output (ie that a different team would reach the same conclusion based on the same evidence). A simple ‘meeting standards’ (for the vast majority) and ‘not yet meeting standards so given ongoing support’ result and a narrative report without generalised statement banks and with clear evidence would be ideal.

I agree with you cantkeepawayforever.

The pressure to play guess what's in Ofsted's head so be ready anytime for 3-10 years just in case the call comes is an unreasonable level of pressure.

I feel for colleagues in primary who are expected to be subject leads for 2-4 subjects often without subject qualifications, and they have to be ready for deep dives at any time, all whilst marking over 100 books a day. That's not good for children.

I also think that the quality control and complaints handling for Ofsted need to be thoroughly overhauled, with an emphasis on a robust evidence trail for every judgement and an absolute zero tolerance approach for bullying / intimidation by inspectors. Thus would obviously go hand in hand with better training to allow reproducibility and very strict rules on conflicts of interest, including, for example, a ban on Ofsted inspectors gaining financially from their role through advisory, consultancy or training work, as well as a veto on employees of MATs inspecting local schools that could be forced to join the MAT if the inspection goes a particular way.

TBH, a full time experienced professional workforce - HMIs - does exist and its expansion to avoid the use if ‘additional inspectors’ et al would seem an obvious step forward.

The pressure to play guess what's in Ofsted's head so be ready anytime for 3-10 years just in case the call comes is an unreasonable level of pressure.

That. And many heads become so fearful that they start making demands on staff that really aren't necessary or required by OFSTED, simply so that they can be doubly certain. As OFSTED changes its mind so often, they feel like they have to be ahead of them.

A family member works at a school where this is happening right now. Lesson planning (and it's not a secondary school, so there are no repeated lessons) is now demanded at a level that is so detailed and time consuming that it's tipped several experienced teachers over the edge, and at least two of them will be leaving the profession in summer. One had said that it's impossible to be a parent to her young children when every evening and most of the weekend is spent planning.

Approaches have been made to the SLT by middle managers, saying that they're adding to the workload excessively for something that OFSTED doesn't need. But with an inspection due, they weren't listened to. The SLT (and it's an outstanding school) are running so scared (because the only way is down now) that they want to be doubly certain.

This is what OFSTED in its present form is doing to both leaders and classroom staff.

Good answer and totally 👍

No one is suggesting they shouldn't be monitored in some way. Just that the current format is not fit for purpose and isn't beneficial, to anyone really. It needs to be abolished and a more appropriate system developed.

Indeed, but being ‘measured’ in the an inconsistent and arbitrary way Ofsted do it isn’t effective and doesn’t raise standards.

saraclara
That sort of thing is why I am planning my exit.
Why should I miss out on time with my children to create planning in specific formats that need to be printed and kept in folders just in case someone who doesn't know the pupils walks into my class and is too stupid to identify that the subject specialist at the front of a well-managed classroom might have planned the lesson?

I have done 6 Ofsteds and the framework for each was completely different-what they focused on, what they expected to see in lessons and book, what paperwork they wanted to see, who they wanted to speak to. What was considered an Outstanding lesson in 2008 or 2014 might not even get a Good now as they are looking at totally different things.

So, when people say-‘just do what you normally do’, it shows they really don’t understand what these inspections are like. THEY change the goal posts continually and if schools don’t jump to the tune of whatever framework they’ve decided to adopt this week, they are downgraded.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/24/teachers-ofsted-inspections-schools-children?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I don't know what teachers are moaning about. They need to be monitored and audited to make sure standard are maintained. There isn't a job out there where that doesn't happen. What is it with teachers? Why are they constantly complaining about literally everything? Just go to job, do your work, come home, go to bed, get up the next day and do it all again. Get paid at the end of the month. If you hate your job quit and do something else. The same as everyone else does. They are not unique. They are not special. They do a hard job but so do many other people, and they are paid quite well, get plenty of time off and get a generous pension.

but ofsted doesn't do that

Yes it does. Not very well but it does.