Sunday thoughts: How should Martyn Oliver take Ofsted forward after Ruth Perry?

I turn even more reluctantly this week to the case of Ruth Perry than I did when I last wrote about it in the Spring. I think my sentiments were expressed perfectly by Amy Forrester in her podcast with Adam Boxer the other day - to summarise her (and my) view it’s something I find difficult because I have been a huge fan of Amanda Spielman’s leadership, as a brilliant chief inspector, and that makes me even more disappointed in how elements of the tragedy have been handled. 

There is, sadly, now nothing that Amanda Spielman can now to do to rectify this in her remaining time in office. I think elements of her proposed changes in her statement immediately following the coroner’s finding were actually very good, and should be built on, but not by her. 

So it falls to Sir Martyn Oliver to take this forward, and to take the opportunity of a reset. If I were advising him, I’d say this has to be the very first thing he speaks about formally as HMCI, as early as possible in his tenure. He has a chance to set out his plans, before he becomes seized by events. And my suggestion for his speech as HMCI, would go something like this:

“ I applied to become Chief Inspector because I believe in the good that inspections can bring - for schools and teachers as well as for parents and pupils. 

I will seek to maintain the highest quality of inspections for schools during my tenure, as well as all the other services which Ofsted inspects. I will not move away from the premise of independent inspection against a national framework. 

But it would be foolish of me to not acknowledge that I take on this role in the light of a genuine crisis of confidence in Ofsted as an inspectorate and the work that inspectors do every day. The awful circumstances surrounding the death of Ruth Perry - and the official coroner finding that Ofsted contributed to her death, and that there is a possibility that others may be under similar pressure, is something I take with the utmost seriousness, as did my predecessor, and as does everyone at Ofsted and in the DfE.  

So I want to immediately set out, in this, my very first speech, a series of changes which I want to make to the way Ofsted seeks to balance the importance of inspection, with its clear duty to support schools and teachers. Some of these measures may take longer to introduce than others, and I will need to consult with unions, teachers, the DfE and others to get them right. But I want to outline 4 principles of change. 

Firstly, taking immediate action following the coroner’s report. My predecessor set out some of the ways in which this will happen, which I will seek to build on. 

I will release the materials used for additional inspector training on dealing with anxiety during inspections, and on when visits can be paused. I want every head to be aware of what inspectors have been told, and how they should act. I will also seek views on whether the duration and content of training was sufficient, and if not, we will do more. 

I also want to build on other elements my predecessor announced, which I entirely support. I want to be crystal clear that heads can share the inspection outcomes with colleagues, family, medical advisers and their wider support group, before they are shared with parents. No one should handle the burden of a judgement entirely on their own. Similarly, I want to reiterate the change made such that school leaders can be accompanied at all times by colleagues during meetings with the inspectors, should they wish. And I want to amplify the new telephone number we have set up whereby any school can get in touch with Ofsted immediately during an inspection if they have concerns. 

Secondly, I want to look at the wider impact of Ofsted and mental health. I want to be driven here by what the evidence says, including the experiences of schools and in particular head teachers. So I am announcing two things. Firstly, the creation of an ad hoc advisory group to work with me as HMCI and my senior colleagues across schools inspection to consider the impact on mental health of inspections. It is likely that this group will want to launch a formal consultation on this topic. I want the group to be drawn from a wide range of teachers and leaders, geographically, by phase, and by seniority, and I will shortly be opening a formal application process for anyone who wishes to serve on this group. Ofsted will pay cover costs for meeting time for all advisory group members. 

I also intend to commission an independent academic study of any link between inspections and teacher and leader mental health, and to make recommendations. I need to be completely honest here and say that this might be difficult to do methodologically. But I am determined to seek out the best and most rigorous evidence we have on this topic, and to make recommendations to me and to the advisory group. 

Thirdly, I want to reset Ofsted’s relationship with schools. As I said, I do not resile from the premise of independent inspection in the interests of parents and pupils. But it is clear to me that the inspectorate must command greater confidence among the profession than it does at present. 

I want to seek better and more well known ways of aggregating teacher feedback from inspections, as well as parent feedback and pupil feedback. Our independent polling suggests high levels of satisfaction with inspections, but it is also true that wider independent and rigorous evidence also suggests wider scepticism, in the abstract, with Ofsted. So I will be taking some time over the coming weeks to consider how best we can capture, and publicise, satisfaction with our work in a transparent and closer to real time way. 

I also want to make myself, as HMCI, available as much as possible to engage with schools and leaders around the country. As well as my formal accountability to Parliament, I want to explore how I can hold public meetings and be questioned by local government, parents, and school trusts and school leaders and teachers around the country (and other children’s services professionals as well) about the work Ofsted is doing. 

And fourthly, I will work with the Department of Education and the government of the day to explore the case for further changes to the inspection framework for schools. Some of this will be outside of my control - for example, any move away from single word grades, or to a more balanced scorecard, or separate safeguarding judgements. These are rightly a matter for democratic governments to decide. But I want to be clear that Ofsted stands ready to help implement any of these. I can see a case for a wider judgement on how Ofsted inspects schools - which builds on the way our reports already work, but placing more emphasis on those supporting conclusions. And I do want to think carefully about how we inspect on safeguarding issues - including, as was the case with Ruth Perry, the link between safeguarding findings and overall inspection judgements. 

And finally, I want to promise that any changes I make as HMCI to the Ofsted schools framework, separate to or alongside any wider changes, will only go forward following full consultation with the profession, and leaving sufficient time for responses to come in. Similarly, cognisant of the impact of workload, and school holidays and other peak times such as exam season, I will work transparently to set out appropriate timescales for any further changes that may be made. 

In making these changes, I hope to balance the need for an independent inspectorate, with my duty to work alongside the dedicated teachers and leaders in this country. Thank you.”