Headteachers face ‘sleepless nights’ and ‘panic’ ready for Ofsted, says union

School leaders are dealing with sleepless nights as they watch for an Ofsted inspection – with misery and complaints over the method “not being a new phenomenon” because the dying of a headteacher in January.

Ruth Perry, who led Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, took her personal life whereas ready for a report by the training regulator at first of this 12 months.

Ofsted gave the varsity the bottom attainable score, regardless of being good in each class bar management and administration, the place it was judged “inadequate”.

But this tragedy isn’t an remoted case, with at the least 10 lecturers taking their very own lives up to now 25 years in relation to the stress of an inspection.

And many within the sector concern there could also be extra if nothing modifications.

So far, Ofsted has resisted calls from unions to scrap single-word judgements, however one former inspector, Andrew Morrish, instructed Sky News he believes reform is “long overdue”, and claimed proof is made to suit a preconceived score.

Mr Morrish stated he may recall a lot of occasions the place he was instructed he “might want to go and rethink” what he put in an proof type, because it won’t have reconciled with what his colleagues have been seeing.

“And that’s not particularly helpful in terms of us trying to get through to the overall final grade. So I felt very uncomfortable with that.”

School leaders ‘unable to sleep’ over Ofsted worries

On what folks have been saying because the dying of Ruth Perry, normal secretary of the NAHT union for varsity leaders Paul Whiteman requested: “How many do we need before it becomes serious?”

But he stated misery over Ofsted inspections is “not a new phenomenon”.

“We’ve been experiencing these calls and these complaints for a very long time,” he instructed Sky News.

“In 2018, we produced a report about inspections and the pressures, but obviously with the tragedy with Ruth Perry, they have been receiving calls of despair and feelings of not being able to sleep at night because of the absolute worry.”

He continued: “People might not know that you can get a telephone call telling you you are going to be inspected on a Monday, Tuesday or a Wednesday… so school leaders probably don’t sleep on Monday night, Tuesday night, and then they might be able to relax on Wednesday afternoon when they know that a call is not going to come in.

“That’s how impactful ready for that decision is, each week.”

Mr Whiteman explained that schools will be anticipating a call from Ofsted every single week once they know they are “within the cycle”.

“If you’ve got simply been inspected clearly you possibly can loosen up for a time period. But when you understand you’re in that cycle you’re ready for a phone name on the Monday, the Tuesday and the Wednesday, and it is a sleepless evening, it is a panic… and that is a cycle that repeats and repeats and repeats,” he said.

Ofsted inspections are ‘intense’

Meanwhile, headteacher Simon Kidwell’s school in Cheshire was inspected last week.

Despite it being his eighth inspection as a headteacher, the stress of it still triggered his insomnia.

“I believe it is the depth of the method. I believe it is the adrenaline as a result of it is very, very excessive stakes. And it is worrying about your workers,” he said.

“I’m getting members of workers saying I’m undecided I can undergo one other inspection cycle.”

Mr Kidwell, described the Ofsted process his school undertook last week as “very intense” after they’d been anticipating a telephone name from the regulator for 18 months.

Read extra:
Refuse to be complicit in Ofsted’s ‘reign of terror’, sister of dead headteacher urges

“We had four inspectors on site for two days and they were very, very thorough in the things that they looked at,” he stated.

He stated he feels a “huge sense of relief” now that the inspection is over.

“Now we know we are going to get a period of time without Ofsted coming back – we can go to London in June with the pupils and not worry about Ofsted phoning.”

He stated there are excessive stakes concerned, with colleges having to be ready at each second to mobilise their workers and get the correct people in entrance of the inspection group in the event that they obtain a name.

In an announcement, Ofsted stated: “Our inspections are first and foremost for children and their parents. We always want inspections to be constructive and collaborative and in the vast majority of cases school leaders agree that they are.”

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman beforehand stated she has no “reason to doubt” the inspection earlier than the dying of Ms Perry and that the “findings were secure”.

She has additionally defended Ofsted’s one-word assessments, which have been criticised for being too simplistic, arguing they’re simpler for fogeys to know.