The fight back against OFSTED has begun - support needed

[wantmorenow]

Just saw this and it seems genuine and if so then bloody marvellous. Let's hope this is the rallying call to changes with immediate effect. This has been posted today. A Headteacher has refused access to Ofsted tomorrow, I assume in the wake of the coverage of Ruth Perry's death.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4765105-ofsted-needs-to-be-abolished-trigger-warning?page=1

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4765712-ofsted-needs-to-be-abolished-further-details

twitter.com/FloraSCooper/status/1637760884243066881

I've just had the call.
I've refused entry.
This is an interesting phone call.
Doing this for everyone for our school staff everywhere!

School asking for support in person tomorrow 8am if local.

They have. Many times. The government has ignored those suggestions.

So how about teachers come up with a workable alternative then instead of the head teacher of a school posting she would 'not let Ofsted in' and random Twitter posts about protests outside the school etc. I mean seriously, she needs to step back and think (about more than her strange Twitter posts).

So teachers/leaders/union come up with something better then. However, schools do need to be held accountable. Safeguarding is paramount and a school that doesn't safeguard should fail (Ian Huntley types will prey on children if not checked).

Many have tried, numerous times.
They are ignored.
The government isn't interested in listening to what schools think would actually be useful and helpful.

It isn't as if there are no checks though. Especially where LA’s are still strongly in place supporting schools, @Logicoutofthewindow.

I posted this on another similar thread.

‘We have.

Safeguarding advisors in the LA, who support and train staff.
Education advisors also carrying out annual safeguarding visits, support to improve and follow up of actions.
Education advisers who carry out investigations flagged up through Ofsted complaints.

The Safeguarding Children Board, has an annual audit to be completed and monitored by governors and leaders and returned. The Safeguarding Board conduct a visit to check out the audit in a random selection of schools.

Of course, much of the above is carried out only in LA’s who still have advisers. Much of the school improvement funding from central government has been diverted away from LA’s.

Academies are responsible for most of the above themselves too.

In our maintained LA schools it isn't as if OFSTED is the only check to keep children safe.’

https://www.edapt.org.uk/support/knowledge-base/can-teachers-boycott-ofsted/

>>>What are the implications for a headteacher who refuses to comply with an inspection?

In addition to the potential criminal offence mentioned above, headteachers should also consider the employment consequences of their decision. Whilst individual contracts can vary, it is likely that refusal of this sort could be deemed to be a breach of contract with their employer as it is likely that any contract would have an implied term to support any Ofsted process. This is particularly relevant given the safeguarding responsibilities and processes that Ofsted routinely inspect.
It is also possible that such conduct could be deemed to constitute ‘gross misconduct’ which could lead to suspension or dismissal. The fact that the act is also a criminal offence adds weight to the likelihood of this meeting a threshold for gross misconduct.
If the headteacher were to be instructed by the appropriate body e.g. School Governors, to comply but refused this instruction, this may also be grounds for disciplinary action.
Headteachers should also be wary of publicly declaring any intentions on social media etc around refusal to comply with Ofsted. This could lead to an argument being made that this could bring the school or employer into disrepute. <<<<<

The school has 12% more boys than girls on roll, wonder why that is.

My son's year is 40 boys, 20 girls.

I don't know much about the case at all to comment.

I've always understood that a safeguarding fail / weak procedures equates to inadequate no matter the quality of teaching and learning.

Me too.

And so it should

Yes.

That's been drummed into me during 20 odd years of teaching.

And the LA can be doing all sorts of safeguarding things on the coal face for children safeguarding wise but they don't inspect school procedures in the way Ofsted do. It's part ot Ofsted to make sure safer recruitment and safeguarding is as water tight as current knowledge and guidance can make it.

Labour want a separate, more regular, safeguarding inspection, and certainly leaving a school un inspected for over a decade is a safeguarding fail on Ofsted's part. But I feel strongly that it should be part and parcel of the school inspection to embed practice.

@AdaLane Perhaps this answers why safeguarding concerns should mean a failed Ofsted.

But you are looking to control the types of review you are subject to. Reform is one thing but what comes out needs to be a strong robust process that parents can rely on and which is not overly influenced by teachers and their unions.

An effective review process should be one that is shaped by both reviewer and reviewee. In my line of work reviewees are consulted when the review process is updated or overhauled. A much more productive outcome is likely if there is effective dialogues and buy-in throughout the process.

@LogicoutofthewindowI would argue that the LA’s annual safeguarding visit, looking at all of the evidence that Ofsted check, is more rigorous as it is a full day with only a safeguarding focus, not all aspects over two days.

Visits include meetings with staff to test out knowledge, tracking through CP records (anonymised), safer recruitment, H&S actions, drills, meeting with pupils to gain their view, meeting with the DSL, DDSL, CoGovernors and governor accountable for safeguarding - all separate to triangulate the information they provide. We check behaviour logs, staff and governor training logs, test out how up to date school safeguarding is....etc etc.
In addition, the LA HR team carry out a check of schools SCR and leave school leaders with actions to complete. This checks not just compliance but also the culture. It includes the curriculum, to test out and support developments so that we know how well children are taught to keep themselves safe.

I know safeguarding is vital. I think there is, though, a difference between a culture of where children are not safe and must be improved and an inadequate brought about by a date missed off a completed action for instance. I have seen this.

On the positive I have also seen where a more sensible approach from an inspector who was confident that school culture of safeguarding was strong and the missed date was put down to an administration task.

I know that this isn't all LA’s, I know it is inconsistent across academy trusts. I know this is severely limited in some LA’s due to central government funding cuts. Safeguarding does, however, remain a legal statutory duty of the LA, with the Director of Childrens Services, ultimately responsible.

So teachers/leaders/union come up with something better then.

You honestly think the government would be remotely interested in listening?

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

s, you can't effect meaningful change in a year,

seriously? I can’t tell you how this would go down in any private enterprise whatsoever.

a year is sufficient to make meaningful change and if a school gets a RI or poor rating then to wait 3/4 years to make meaningful change is bloody unfair to the current kids.

any RI school that blanches at making meaningful change in a year is…. Shit

an inadequate brought about by a date missed off a completed action for instance. I have seen this.
This is half the story.

the key is what the action was. And if there was no documented date and no evidence to prove when the action had been completed… quite possibly a safe guarding risk had been ongoing for an unacceptable amount of time.

How did the fightback go?

No, not in this case. Actions were complete, leaders able to talk about them, outcomes evident. This was about a known, ferocious inspector rather than the inspector in the other inspection I mentioned who listened to leaders, evidenced the actions and put the missed date down to an admin error.

I work in this. I know that an ‘admin error’ only works in a strong school where the culture is strong.

But it wouldn’t have been down to just “one ferocious inspector”

there is a team

and so if they have a school an inadequate for something then a) it meant that the team gave the inadequate and b) it would have had to have met the criteria for a fail so any school that didn’t fail with exactly the same situation should have failed

You obviously haven't met some of them....

We know which inspectors are unreasonable, we know how they treat us in inspections, we know what to expect when certain inspectors are named as leading an inspection.
In our small schools the team is only two inspectors, one lead and at the minute one new to role.

A team of two? Is that a team?

Has anyone mentioned the method of recording evidence in the new inspections? The inspector types furiously on a mini laptop for the entire day/two days. Maybe they are just amazing at being multi-skilled, but I don’t think it’s an effective way to observe anything of you are constantly recording evidence. Where is the observing, thinking, consideration?

I have huge respect for teachers but they do no favours for themselves on mumsnet threads such as this one.

I will bow out but honestly…. Statements such as “it takes more than a year to make meaningful change” and that follow up inspections shouldn’t be for another 3/4 years where it’s RI will go down like a lead balloon amongst anyone who a) works in the private sector and b) has school age children

I’m not sure some parents do, either. I wouldn’t dream of posting on a doctors’ thread and repeatedly telling them where I thought a watchdog should be doing, because I just wouldn’t know more than they do.

*what I thought