What do young people think about Ofsted? Astonishingly, perhaps, 30 years after the school inspection service was established, that question is rarely asked. But a group of sixth-formers in east London have been inspecting the inspectors, prompted by studies suggesting the education system is one of the most common causes of stress and anxiety in their generation.
They have spent the last three years interviewing pupils, teachers and former Ofsted inspectors, and say their findings were a “revelation”. They have now made a film, Breaking the Silence, released online, and they are finalising details of an alternative inspection regime that they say would hold schools to account more effectively and be better for young people’s wellbeing.
