Hitchin's Secret Teacher column: Ofsted is not fit for purpose and causes more harm than good

Pressure is mounting on Ofsted as teaching unions demand a full inquiry into the role an inspection branded 'deeply harmful' and 'unfair' played in a primary school headteacher's suicide.

Ruth Perry, headteacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading, killed herself in January while waiting for an Ofsted report which gave her school the lowest rating.

Read on for our latest hard-hitting Hitchin Nub News' Secret Teacher column as they say: Ofsted is not fit for purpose and causes more harm than good

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It is often said that if you send your child to a school in Hitchin, you are sending them to a very good school, writes Hitchin Nub News Secret Teacher.

Hitchin house prices amongst other things tell you this.

Another measure that is often used is the school's current Ofsted grading - but just how reliable are these and more significantly of late, at what cost?

The recent tragic loss of a well-respected school leader, Ruth Perry, after her school in Reading was downgraded from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate' has sent shockwaves through the education community after her family blamed the 'intolerable pressure' of the inspection process for her death.

It would be wrong, however, in a piece such as this to focus on the specifics of an individual case; suicide is extremely complex and mental health professional organisations warn against attributing it to a single cause.

Instead, perhaps we should reflect on other aspects of Ofsted that headteachers and school leaders have reported following the experiences they have had in their schools.

I don't think there is a teacher who wouldn't agree with the fact that schools need to be held account for the work they do; the education they provide and probably more importantly, the safeguarding practices in their establishments.

With safeguarding being such a key feature of the inspection process, it can't be right therefore that we have some schools who haven't been inspected since 2009.

Surely it is time to remove the safeguarding element from routine (or not so routine) inspections and have some form of annual audit carried out by the local authority or inspectors with this as a specific brief?

Personal experience of this key section of the Ofsted inspection at 830am on day one, highlighted the stress it placed on the staff responsible for this.

A missing date on a form, a clerical error and the next two days wouldn't have been pleasant.

I have been involved in a number of inspections since starting teaching in various roles. Initially as a young, inexperienced teacher and now, as an experienced member of the profession.

In every single one of those inspections, the 'framework' used has been different. The processes were different. The criteria were different. The timings were different. The argument that Ofsted is therefore a force for school improvement falls down. How can anything be used as a barometer for progress if the goalposts change?

For me, the current model is not fit for purpose and as already mentioned, in some cases, can cause more harm than good.

Leaders running 'mocksteds' to prepare their schools; normal practice being halted 'just in case' a school 'gets the call'; increased paper work all lead to additional stress, increased workload and a decrease in wellbeing.

And then what if the grade is not at least good? There is a great deal of evidence which highlights the harm a judgement of 'requires improvement' or 'inadequate' can do.

Falling numbers perhaps, which in turn would lead to reduced budget. A reduced budget in these already challenging times could lead to a reduction in staff and that of course would lead to pupils not being supported as well as they should.

Standards will ultimately fall. An immediate downward spiral.

What should happen?

We are at significant moment in Ofsted's evolution and hopefully the attention they are getting at present, coupled with the fact that HMCI Amanda Spielman is about to leave her post, will mean a change in attitude and approach.

We must trust the professionalism and expertise of school leaders and other staff who do their very best day in, day out. If you work in education, you have an intrinsic desire to be the very best you can be and do the very best you can do each and every day.

We must then remove the single word judgement from the top of the report and focus instead on why each school provides an 'effective' level of education for its community.

After all, schools have to adapt to provide what is right for their families. We can then use a supportive approach from a regular schedule of visits to work on areas which could be even better than they are.

Then, and only then, might we have an education system which attracts and keeps the best members of staff. And a system where schools feel happier about collaboration.

Perhaps those within schools could do one additional thing in the meantime.

If we took down the 'outstanding' and 'good' banners from our fences and our letterheads, it would highlight the fact that we don't actually care about that single word judgement.

It is a start and following the death of Ruth Perry, a small tribute to a fellow professional.