Headteachers have told the Observer they are considering refusing entry to Ofsted until the inspectorate commits to significant change, after a coroner’s warning that the inspection system risks contributing to future deaths.
In December, a coroner concluded that an inspection contributed to the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry and issued a prevention of future deaths notice to the government and Ofsted, outlining a number of issues to address urgently.
Last week, Sir Martyn Oliver marked his arrival as the new chief inspector by announcing a two-week pause to inspections until 22 January, while inspectors received “immediate training” on alleviating stress.
Initial training will consist of a half-day mental health awareness webinar on Monday, including sessions with Mental Health First Aid England.
Oliver described the training as “a first step – but for me a critical first step – in reassuring the sectors we work with that we’re serious about change”.
Leaders of headteachers’ unions said that while it was “early days”, they had a constructive first meeting with him on Friday, discussing how to make the system “less punitive and fairer”. But angry heads are warning that these promises are hollow.
The head of a school in a deprived area, who spoke to the Observer on condition of anonymity, said: “We are just expected to go back to normal after this short pause, but nothing is really changing. I think I am well within my rights to say: ‘You’re not coming in.’”
Although inspectors have statutory rights of entry, the head has spoken to governors about barring Ofsted on health and safety grounds, and said they support the move. “Things are really hard and I feel strongly that I shouldn’t be letting them in if we get the call, as I have no control over the process and how it could impact my staff’s mental health,” the head said.
Unions and heads have been further angered by the Observer’s discovery that Ofsted made the decision to pause January inspections in mid- December, but chose not to give anxious teachers waiting for “the call” a more relaxing Christmas by telling them this.
One inspector, who asked not to be named, confirmed: “I knew back in December about the pause but I think they wanted to hold off the announcement until Sir Martyn started.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Ofsted is prioritising fanfare for the new chief inspector over the wellbeing of school staff. How can the sector take his so-called changes seriously, knowing that?”
Flora Cooper, the primary school headteacher in Newbury, Berkshire, who caused waves in March last year by attempting to refuse entry to Ofsted after news of Perry’s suicide, said she was waiting to see whether Oliver would take “real action”. But she warned: “If he doesn’t go far enough, he will have heads who will either resign or stand together in solidarity to try to make change happen.”
Cooper added that it was unclear how many heads “will be brave enough”. “I know from my own experience that trying to refuse entry is terrifying,” she said.
Last March, teachers she had never met offered to jump on board trains and support her, but Ofsted declined to accept her risk assessment, and the inspection went ahead. This weekend, she stressed that heads “absolutely want accountability”, but said the “us and them” culture of Ofsted had to end. “We want accountability that is about driving improvement.”
Paul Garvey, a former Ofsted inspector who now advises schools, said the coroner’s report meant that “the pendulum has now swung towards schools saying no to Ofsted coming in”, but added that most cash-strapped schools would be frightened off by the costs of a legal challenge.
Ben Davis, headteacher at St Ambrose Barlow RC high in Salford, said: “If school leaders are considering, as some clearly are, not letting Ofsted in, they will be breaking the law. But on the other side, they risk not discharging their duties when it comes to health and safety legislation.”
Prof Lucy Easthope, an adviser on disaster recovery, said: “The traumas we are seeing as a result of inspections – fainting, being unable to speak, being sick – mirror the reactions of families being given the worst news in a disaster recovery centre.” She added: “You can’t learn how to address that in half a day.”
