| SPOTLIGHT |
NAHT, the school leader’s union, has instructed its National Executive to explore all campaign, legal and industrial routes to secure “necessary changes” to inspections by Ofsted.
This comes after the Government’s refusal to commit to scrapping single-word judgments.
The union described the current Ofsted inspection system as “inhumane and unreliable”, claiming that this consensus had been strengthened by a Senior Coroner’s finding that an Ofsted inspection "contributed" to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
Ms Perry was the head at Caversham Primary School in Reading, who took her own life while waiting for a report that downgraded her school to "inadequate".
An emergency motion passed at NAHT's annual conference in Newport last week (4 May) instructed its National Executive to explore routes to secure necessary changes to inspections carried out by Ofsted.
The NAHT said: “Government has effectively ignored the findings of [the] coroner’s prevention of future deaths report by rejecting the Select Committee’s recommendations. Its tin-eared defence of discredited and reductive single-phrase judgements, and its unwillingness to enter into any meaningful consultation or negotiation, poses a real and present danger to the mental health, well-being and lives of school leaders and teachers. Should another tragedy happen in the future, it will be ministers who need to answer for their decisions.”
Speaking at the NAHT conference on 4 May, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver said: "I know some of you would like us to make changes to our gradings, as part of a future system. I’m sure you’ll know […] that we can’t do that unilaterally. So much of the government’s school improvement system rests on our grades, that any changes would need to align with a bigger, wider remodelling of the whole accountability system. That has to be a government decision.”
He added: “The case against the grades is that they are simple. That they lack nuance and can be a blunt summary of a complicated reality.
“The case for the grades is that they are simple. That they are unambiguous and give a clear picture, while more detail is provided in the sub-judgements and reports.
“So, there is no perfect answer, but it’s right the debate goes on and that we continue to challenge ourselves about the way we present information to you and to the public. That’s a big part of the Big Listen.”
The Department for Education has been approached for comment.
Lottie Winson
