We had an Ofsted inspection last year and it all went OK. It’s a relief when an event anticipated with such apprehension isn’t as bad as one thinks it will be.
Done right, by a credible, conscientious and considered colleague, it is a process that you can feel a part of - one you can feel “seen by” and can learn from.
It can even give everyone in school a boost, bringing them together and offering an opportunity to celebrate their shared endeavour.
Ofsted inspection: fear of the unknown
So, why should it be that heads spend their time in a state of such trepidation? The first three days of the week crawl by, watching the phone, and the weekend is soured by fear of Monday morning.
It’s the not knowing.
Not knowing quite what will be asked of you and your team. Not knowing how those questions will be issued or how answers will need to be evidenced. Not knowing what you don’t know (there’s almost certainly going to be something you’re asked that you don’t have an answer for).
This is the space in which the “preparing for inspection” industry has come to dominate.
Inside information
For some schools, though, the situation is far less worrisome - chiefly because they have a member of staff who is an inspector and understands a lot more about the process that awaits.
In October FFT Education Datalab asked: “Do schools that employ an Ofsted inspector get better inspection grades?”, and its answer was, unsurprisingly, a resounding “yes”.
So why can’t all heads be let in on the secret? Why can’t Ofsted training, like the inspector’s handbook, be made available to all?
I had the privilege of training with Ofsted at the start of the year and found it incredibly useful. Twenty-six years into my career, with the past 13 spent as a head and with numerous inspections under my belt, I still learned a plethora of new things.
It was eight days well spent in the company of respected peers equally alive to the new learning on offer, and it was a look behind the curtain.
Back in our schools, my heads and trust colleagues were eager to hear what I had learned. Unfortunately for them, I couldn’t tell. That’s not part of the contract.
But why not? Of course, eight days is a lot but these days most training is delivered online and we’re adept at making complex learning available through dynamic, interactive and mixed media learning courses available on demand, for whenever suits the learner.
So why can’t all heads access inspection training this way, at a time that works for them?
Not to become an inspector, but to become an informed inspectee.
Not to undermine the process, but to make it a more collaborative one, to remove the unknown and help the sector understand far better what the inspectorate wants. Surely this is an ideal Ofsted would welcome?
A time for change
So as the profession debates change in this important area of education - and with the appointment of Sir Martyn Oliver as chief inspector of Ofsted and his commitment to a “big listen” - let’s keep this possibility in mind.
For surely the fear of the unknown has no place in education.
Paul Campbell is regional director at multi-academy trust The Pioneer Academy
