A school leaders’ union has urged its members not to work as Ofsted inspectors until its pay dispute with government is resolved following an emotional conference speech from the late headteacher Ruth Perry’s sister, who urged them to “hand in their badges”.
The NAHT conference voted unanimously to back an emergency motion today calling on its national executive to ask members who are inspectors to consider refraining from carrying out inspections until the trade dispute is resolved.
The vote came after Ruth Perry’s sister Professor Julia Waters urged school leaders who work for Ofsted as inspectors to resign from this work and refuse to be complicit in what she described as the inspectorate’s “reign of terror” during her speech to the delegates this morning.
She also called for an urgent independent review of the watchdog’s culture, systems and framework, adding she would not stop calling for reform.
Professor Waters’ move to speak out about the death of her sister has led to an outpouring of grief and anger from the education sector, and demands for inspection to be paused.
Ms Perry’s family said she took her own life after an Ofsted inspection following which her school was downgraded to “inadequate”. An inquest into her death has been opened.
Speaking to school leaders today at the NAHT conference in Telford, Professor Waters said that speaking out publicly had created new layers of grief and outrage for her family.
In an emotional speech today, she raised concerns about the impact of single-word Ofsted inspection judgements, the use of safeguarding as a limiting judgement “and the focus of the named individual and the public nature of that focus”.
She also described the confidentiality requirements on headteachers not to share Ofsted inspection outcomes findings before reports are published as “inhumane”.
Professor Waters added: “If the government continues to refuse to pause inspections and certainly the optimal moment for doing that has passed, then I call on them to commission an urgent independent review of the Ofsted framework, systems and culture.
‘I won’t give up until Ofsted is radically reformed’
Professor Waters backed calls made by the NAHT president-elect Simon Kidwell, who urged heads to take down Ofsted banners and quotes from their schools and websites.
And she added: “What else can you do? Much has been made of the fact that many Ofsted inspectors are current and former headteachers. How many in this room are serving Ofsted inspectors?”
She told heads she had “no doubt you’re doing your best but you’re working within a flawed, inhumane system” and urged them to follow the example of inspectors who have already resigned.
“I won’t give up until Ofsted is radically reformed to place the welfare of teaching staff, as well as of children, at its heart. So, please: stand up…speak out, take down your banners, hand in your badges. Ofsted must be reformed.”
She received a long and loud standing ovation from the conference delegates, who were visibly moved by the speech.
Heads vote for Ofsted reform
The NAHT conference also voted unanimously for a series of Ofsted changes at today’s conference.
The emergency motion, which was passed unanimously, calls on the “NAHT national executive to communicate to members who are inspectors a request to consider refraining from carrying out inspections until the trade dispute is resolved”.
The motions passed also included calling on the union’s national executive to lobby for “a dialling down of the high-stakes nature of inspection through exploring options for reducing stress on school leaders”.
It said this may include greater transparency over the inspection timetable, and the exploration of different models for inspection such as ungraded inspection, or separating the inspection of safeguarding from the main inspection process.
The conference also voted to call on the union’s national executive to demand that Ofsted schedules inspections more sympathetically to the school calendar to reduce pressures on school leaders at significant times in the year.
And it backed a motion for the union to campaign for reform of school inspection to “a system that supports improvement and safeguards leaders’ wellbeing, rather than one that drives dedicated professionals away. Or worse”.
The NAHT is considering taking legal action over the decision to continue Ofsted inspections. Yesterday, NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said that lawyers were putting the finishing touches to a legal challenge.
‘Olive branch’
Earlier this month, chief inspector Amanda Spielman set out plans in an attempt to address concerns over Ofsted’s judgements on safeguarding and how it handles complaints.
She also sought to reassure the sector that Ofsted had been listening to their concerns since the news of the death of Ruth Perry.
The changes included looking at how its inspectors could return quickly to reinspect schools where there were safeguarding concerns but which were otherwise performing well. She said Ofsted was also piloting a new approach to complaints and making clear that staff could have a colleague with them during meetings with Ofsted inspectors.
At the time, school leaders said this would not be enough to restore trust in the inspectorate.
