As we returned for the spring term last week, news broke that the new Ofsted chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, had paused inspections until January 22 so that inspectors could undergo emergency mental health awareness training.
It was in response to the damning coroner’s ruling from December’s inquest into the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
The inquest ruled that the November 2022 inspection of Ruth Perry’s school “lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity”, was at times “rude and intimidating”, and had “contributed” to her suicide.
The coroner issued a prevention of future death notice which requires Ofsted to set-out what it plans to do to mitigate the chances of something similar happening again. The notice identified seven areas that the coroner wants Ofsted (and or the Department for Education) to address.
Sir Martyn said on Friday (January 5) that he will submit his response to the coroner on January 19, “setting out clearly how Ofsted will conduct inspections with professionalism, courtesy, respect and empathy”. Ofsted has said it will seek permission from the coroner to publish this document as soon as possible.
It comes after the new Ofsted chief spent a whole day meeting with the leaders of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), and the Confederation of School Trusts (CST).
Sir Martyn has invited the three organisations to continue to work with Ofsted and another meeting was due to take place this week. Ofsted said that “in particular, the group will reconvene for intensive work on ensuring headteachers feel confident, as inspections resume, to raise any serious concerns”. Ofsted’s engagement with ASCL, NAHT and CST is due to continue following the publication of the response to the coroner.
Speaking in a video briefing to his members earlier this week, ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton, said that an immediate overhaul of Ofsted was unlikely but added that he thinks it is “likely” we will see an immediate shift to “more nuanced inspection” when inspections resume.
He told ASCL members: “I think there is a different tone being set from Ofsted. We need to be really careful in terms of understanding what a chief inspector can and can’t do and how quickly she or he can or can’t do things. Those people calling for very radical reform now – that is unlikely to happen.
“But does it look like more nuanced inspection is going to start happening pretty much straight away, with a sense of listening to the profession, with a sense of what the evolution of inspection looks like? I have come out of the first week of Sir Martyn Oliver’s tenure thinking that that is likely to happen, but it is early days.”
One of the key subjects of discussion between Sir Martyn and the three education organisations will undoubtedly be the use of one-word judgements.
At the inquest, while the coroner raised her concerns about the conduct of the inspection itself, she also criticised the current Ofsted system under which a school that is “good” in most areas can be branded “inadequate” due to safeguarding issues that could be remedied by the time the report is published.
Another key area is the pausing of inspections if a headteacher is distressed or mentally unwell. During the inquest, the coroner asked Ofsted witnesses when and how an inspection could be paused or stopped if a head was distressed – the lack of a definitive answer led the coroner to question whether a paused inspection was a “mystical creature”.
In the prevention of future deaths notice, the coroner criticised an “almost complete absence of Ofsted training or published policy” in relation to:
- Signs of distress in school leaders during an inspection.
- Practical steps to deal with such distress.
- Pausing an inspection by reason of the distress of a school leader.
- Who can attend meetings with the inspectors during the inspection process.
The mental health training for around 3,000 inspectors was rolled out this week and includes training and support from Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England. This is to be followed up with a rolling programme of further mental health awareness training, including small group work with inspectors “to help them understand and recognise any mental health issues they may encounter on inspection”.
Sir Martyn has pledged that from January 22, every school and college inspection will be led by an inspector who has completed the training. All inspectors are expected to complete the full training by the end of March.
Ruth Perry’s death had already led to a number of “tweaks” to Ofsted procedures, including changes to the complaints process, a change allowing school leaders to share inspection outcomes with colleagues, family, medical advisors, and wider support groups before sharing with parents, and a new helpline. However many were agreed that the changes did not go far enough.
Commenting last week after the first meeting with Ofsted, Mr Barton said: “The meeting gave us an opportunity to reflect on the concerns raised in the coroner’s report, discuss how relations between Ofsted and the profession can be reset, give reassurance to leaders that the resumption of inspection will not simply be ‘business as usual’, and start to consider the need for the longer-term reforms.
“We look forward to continuing to work together constructively in pursuit of an inspection system that is fairer, less punitive and has the trust of school and college leaders.”
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, added: “I felt that for the first time in far too long Ofsted took seriously the concerns of NAHT members. It’s early days but both Sir Martyn and Dame Christine Ryan (Ofsted chair) demonstrated a deep understanding of our members’ concerns and a determination to work with us to identify solutions.
“NAHT members will judge progress on actions and not words. To that end we have started today to agree immediate actions to bring confidence and space to discuss longer term reform.”
Leora Cruddas, CEO of the CST, said: “We are pleased that Ofsted has engaged constructively with us so early in Sir Martyn’s tenure. The conversations today have been very positive and signal a change in practice, tone and culture.”
Sir Martyn said: “I’ve been very clear that we must reflect on the findings of the coroner, learn from the tragic events of last year, and emerge as a better and more effective inspectorate. That means being trusted by parents and respected by the education and social care professionals we work with.
“We paused school and further education inspections to allow for training to take place. This mental health awareness training is a first step – but for me a critical first step – in reassuring the sectors we work with that we’re serious about change.”
- Courts and Tribunals Judiciary: Ruth Perry: Prevention of future deaths report, December 2023: www.judiciary.uk/prevention-of-future-death-reports/ruth-perry-prevention-of-future-deaths-report