{"id":229206,"date":"2025-05-05T16:23:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T15:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=229206"},"modified":"2025-05-02T09:46:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T08:46:08","slug":"why-our-members-are-not-reassured-after-meeting-sir-martyn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/why-our-members-are-not-reassured-after-meeting-sir-martyn\/","title":{"rendered":"Why our members are not reassured after meeting Sir Martyn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When fellows of the Chartered College of Teaching met to discuss Ofsted\u2019s proposals with His Majesty\u2019s chief inspector last week, their questions went to the heart of the problem: inspection is currently a process that is \u2018done to\u2019 schools, their leaders and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is certainly true that we need to know that schools are fulfilling their statutory responsibilities and providing the best education possible for the pupils in their care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also important that school leaders have opportunities to see their provision from other perspectives, to see how other schools manage similar challenges and to justify their approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this isn\u2019t a role Ofsted has fulfilled in the past, and we\u2019re concerned that the new framework<\/a> is still a long way from this.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sir Martyn is clear that he wants inspection to be a professional conversation. He told members that he wants inspectors to start with conversations with leaders, staff, parents and  pupils to understand how they see the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wants those conversations to shape the direction of the inspection: \u201cTell me what your improvement priorities are, what you\u2019re really proud of\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, he also wants inspectors to be able to tell school leaders if they see something that concerns them, and ask for evidence that it\u2019s being addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And importantly, he wants to invite leaders to explain how their context and intake impacts on their outcomes, what steps they are taking to meet the needs of their pupils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His vision, as he told members, is a system where leaders can be honest about their strengths and weaknesses, where they can be challenged when their practice isn\u2019t as good as they think and shared as exemplary when it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think we\u2019d all love to see that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is that teachers and leaders have lost trust in the inspectorate. They feel that they have to second-guess what inspectors are looking for, which leads to hours of unnecessary work \u2018just in case\u2019 and huge pressure to demonstrate perfect provision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

A new framework won\u2019t solve Ofsted\u2019s subjectivity problem<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A new framework, particularly one that is open to different interpretations, won\u2019t solve the problem, described by one Fellow, of Ofsted\u2019s subjectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rightly, our members want greater clarity and fewer focus areas. And given that inspection can never be a truly objective process, they need to know that they can hold the inspectorate accountable for being, in the chief inspector\u2019s own words, \u201caccurate, fair and consistent\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-building trust in Ofsted depends on it, so we would like to see a clear process for monitoring inspection decisions, to identify inconsistencies and bias, with open reporting of the issues and how they are being resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More fundamentally still, the Ofsted model has led to the profession losing trust in itself. Too many schools are focused on \u2018what Ofsted wants\u2019, leading to a loss of creativity and innovation. Leaders feel the pressure to make improvements quickly rather than focus on deep changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve seen this clearly in our Rethinking Curriculum project, with leaders unwilling to make changes they knew were right for their children for fear of Ofsted judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members want inspection to recognise the cyclical nature of improvement, and the time it takes to effect real change. I am particularly concerned that the proposed \u2018exemplary\u2019 judgment could again be seen as the inspectorate determining what excellence looks like, with leaders feeling pressure to copy \u2018Ofsted-approved\u2019 practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, members want  a framework that encourages schools to collaborate and share their own case studies of excellence and opportunities to learn from their improvement  journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the profession to regain its voice and to attract and retain excellent teachers, we need an inspection system that empowers. And for that we need an inspectorate that is knowledgeable, reflective and open to learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sir Martyn was clear about the importance of training. He re-iterated that he is keen to work with us to carry the learning from chartered status into accredited inspector training<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe that our focus on professional principles, critical reading of evidence and understanding its uses and impacts in practice would be an ideal basis for long-term development of inspectors\u2019 professional practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But just like school improvement, rebuilding trust will take time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HMCI\u2019s visit to the Chartered College of Teaching didn\u2019t alleviate many concerns, but it did point the way to some potential solutions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311124,"featured_media":229137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"post-theme":[3559],"class_list":["post-229206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","post-theme-opinion-accountability"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t