Ofsted statement regarding and Inadequate judgment of a school

[declutteringmymind]

Hi all

Does anyone know which school this is???

It's very unusual for Ofsted to get publicly defensive about a judgment. And a bit weird for them to do it by tweeting.

twitter.com/ofstednews/status/1564986018545258496?s=24&t=geKZVybT8C_7Sw3qgZTljA

And here's the link. Sorry

News story in daily mail last week

www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11153213/amp/Britains-strictest-headteacher-hits-Ofsted-inspectors-school-oppressive.html

Aaah thank you. Looks like some of those methods are bullying in themselves. Glad it's been called out.

Ultra Strict schools are a form of bullying, I think. The Head of this school has a reputation to protect and publicly reacted to Ofsted I understand. Ofsted found bullying and other issues at the school so being strict didn’t produce exemplary behaviour. That’s the point I think. Use of Twitter is unusual though!

Apologies. Not the head, the consultant they used. They should have formulated their own policies for their own school population.

But on the other hand the school got its best ever GCSE and A Level results. There is a massive issue with discipline in schools and although this may go a little far one way there is clearly evidence that working in discipline can result in improved results.

Having read the article it seems like they were expecting basic good manner and discipline

And before you ask yes I am a teacher & have taught in school with and without effective discipline

Yes yes to discipline. Especially after covid during which lots of rules were broken, young people had so much disruption and uncertainty, and boundaries needed to be reset and reaffirmed. But it has do be done in a way that students welcome it and feel the benefits of the calm and pleasant environment it creates, especially for those who only really experience the benefits of good behaviour at school.

This school obviously found the limit to which Ofsted defines 'discipline', however effective it might be.

I think schools are vulnerable to external advisors - as a chair of Governors, my experience is that good ones are hard to find. Yet Ofsted will always want to take external views into consideration and ask for external reports at inspection, without knowing their credibility. Poorly run schools have some cosy relationships with advisers who will give them a glowing BS report which the HT will then use to validate their leadership.

I'm glad they've pushed back a bit

Interesting. Our local school was called the strictest school once (not this one) and has SLANT in all the classrooms. And a photo of a cons leader in the entrance. More michaela-esque but it dis seem these super strict schools were the "in" thing for a bit.

Barry Smith started out at Michaela.

He visited a friend of mine's school for a whole-school Inset and many staff didn't like his manner or general vibe. He was very manic.

I note the Abbey School has a higher proportion than average of kids with SEND, including a big autism specialist provision. SLANT would be highly unsuitable for many of them.

@declutteringmymindHave you actually read the Ofsted report?

it’s safeguarding is inadequate. Pupils do not feel safe. There is bullying. Staff are not administering policies effectively. Pupils are not listened to. It’s all very well having a mantra and getting a consultant in but you have to walk the walk in the school every day. Ofsted do not just look at results. They look at everything in their Handbook. Having read the report, just focusing on discipline is to miss most of what the report is about. That’s no doubt why Ofsted tweeted.

I think Ofsted have made it quite clear in the report that the school's behaviour policy is contributing to pupils feeling unsafe:

'In lessons, most pupils comply with leaders’ strict expectations of behaviour. However, the way that leaders implement these expectations does not contribute positively to the culture of the school. For the majority of pupils, these approaches are applied in a manner that is overly restrictive. Many pupils find this oppressive. Leaders have not taken the right actions to address bullying or make sure that behaviour out of lessons is consistently good. Additionally, leaders have not instilled trust in pupils, which means pupils feel that they cannot report their concerns and know that these issues will be addressed effectively.'

I agree with you that it's not all about results thank goodness.

@declutteringmymind

Yes but that’s only one aspect of the report. Safeguarding is woeful. No school will get good with that outcome. It’s also a leadership issue where leaders have pressed on with a policy they didn’t write without taking anyone else into account. That’s wrong.

I don't disagree with you @TizerorFizz

I think you can take things to far, although I think a lot of mediocre secondaries could do with a big raise in expectations, behaviour and attitudes.

Out local Michaela-esque school wouldn't suit my ds who is autistic and would find the "tracking and looking at your teacher" bit of slant overwhelming but it does attract a large number of neurodiverse pupils - way more than the city average- who need or want the highly structured, rules-based, calm and quiet atmosphere that goes with it.

This is ofsted who tells teachers to be less disabled!! Hardly doing a fine job with regards to respect and safeguarding themselves.

@Porcupineintherough
The problem for the school in question was that it didn’t recognise it had bullying and pupils didn’t believe staff would help them. There was therefore a disconnect between rules and teachers recognising that pupils need more than rules. They need active engagement from staff and policies that are monitored and evaluated and improved. Yes, of course some pupils thrive in a quiet atmosphere but they shouldn’t have to put up with bullying, not feeling safe and poor safeguarding procedures.