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.

Accountability

There have been a range of claims that the report was accessible from the Ofsted website for a period of time before disappearing. These may or may not be correct. I, however, choose not to dismiss them as "misinformation" given the seriousness of the matter.

where is this school?

I’m guessing @LividNC never bothered to come back to confirm the “information” she refers to.

It will be tumbleweed at the gates of this school aside from the self proclaimed “warrior” HT

Oxford

the HT joined late last year

John Rankin School in Newbury. Flora Cooper is the Exec Head, she has been there since September 2022 (beginning of the academic year, not 'late last year').
She was very vocal over the weekend about taking a stand against Ofsted in the light of Ruth Perry's death. She may or may not have known Ruth, but they worked in the same county.

All information freely available on Twitter.

Just check the head's Twatter page. There's probably a full pupil roster up by now. Alongside the earlier posted full address of the school and an invitation to any random on Twatter to come to the school tomorrow.

Yes according to herself she rose “like a phoenix”.

I wonder what the parents make of her 😂

She’s been laughably reckless with the school

She's rising like a phoenix right now.

She personally can be fined £2,500 for not letting the inspectors in. Ofsted will call it a safeguarding issue. She's still doing something great.

Straight from the horse’s mouth no less! 😂

As a former teacher, to the parents who wonder why you wouldn’t let Ofsted in. It’s a bit like the posts on here where the OP has a very overzealous and exceptionally useless health visitor. And the advice is always “just say no” and refuse access. Ofsted are useless, they do not benefit schools or children, they actively undermine genuine good practice and harm outcomes. Their impact on schools is thoroughly detrimental. The schools refusing access are the parents who are refusing to be bullied. The flaw with this analogy is that some health visitors do a great job, offer good advice and are helpful. No Ofsted inspection is beneficial - their entire metric is either useless or actively harmful. They’re destroying education.

As a parent, I am able to research into why this might be happening and not be worried at all if a school refuses access.

They have my full support.

They don't show on a search of the Ofsted website but are accessible on the link provided to/by the school. It can be a monty before it being shared with parents and being available on an open search.

The equivalent is a bank refusing access to financial auditors

Utterly stupid
and has no legs whatsoever

@Lovelyveg82 the school is in Newbury which is in Berkshire. The same county as Caversham Primary.

And I feel desolately sad at that news

but this shows a very serious lack of awareness on the part of this head

Out of interest @Lovelyveg82 are you a teacher? I’m not asking that to be inflammatory (tone is so hard to convey) but because if you are aren’t I think it’s almost impossible to understand the stress and anxiety that OFSTED causes teachers. It’s often catastrophic even when it doesn’t go as far as Ruth Perry.

No I am not a teacher.

It would be a lot more compelling if this head has taken a stand in some guise before ofsted called her.

Oh and if she didn’t have such a daft Twitter to file

From a little bit of digging she's only been the excecitive head since September 2022. I get ofstead are rubbish what I wonder what her reasons are for blocking.

It's an action being taken in response the the news that a headteacher took her own life following an OFSTED inspection and the callous way it was added as a bullet point to the published report.

Actually in response to her getting a call from ofsted

Well yes, she's taken this action after a phone call from ofsted.
But the reason behind the refusal is as a result of the headteacher's death and ofsted's report following her death. Had that not occurred and been all over social media in the last few days then it's most likely the refusal wouldn't be happening now.

@Lovelyveg82 no I get that - she’s not perhaps the best advert for OFSTED defiance. But something needs to change and I guess this is a start. 🤷‍♀️

We won’t know but it seems rather convenient that this HT has risen “like a phoenix” just an hour after ofsted contacts her.