Following the news that Ofsted will be visiting schools rated “inadequate”, and a selection of others, in the autumn term, there was a feeling of disappointment among our team at Lodge Park Academy. Not disappointment that Ofsted would be visiting, but that they wouldn’t be inspecting. 

While many in education are questioning the need for Ofsted to visit at a time when school leaders and teachers will have other priorities, my staff and I feel differently.

We absolutely understand why headteachers would prefer Ofsted to stay away. But, for us, any acknowledgement of the incredible progress that we’ve made is long overdue.

I joined Lodge Park Academy in September 2019, when I teamed up with the brilliant Robert Sloan, executive principal, to turn the school around. We had a monitoring visit from Ofsted in October, which recognised the progress we had made, and told us that we could expect our next visit in spring 2020.

Coronavirus: Our Ofsted phone call didn’t come

As the new year started, we readied ourselves for the phone call. February arrived, and we kept hearing news of an increasingly worrying virus. As March drew to a close, it became clear that there was no need to feel fearful of Ofsted. Another, far greater fear had emerged.

We are very proud of what we have achieved during the pandemic. Despite the difficulties of serving a predominantly deprived area, our teachers, staff and students rose to the challenge.

Among other achievements, we made 7,866 welfare calls, innovated with online lessons for all year groups and hosted a tremendous virtual sports day. All of which is brilliant, though none of it is externally recognised.

If the coronavirus pandemic hadn’t happened, we definitely would have had one monitoring visit. We might even have had two. We might even have had a full Section 5 inspection and now be out of special measures.

But coronavirus did happen. And here we still are, weighed down by the label of “inadequate”, even though we are anything but.

The problem with being in special measures

The problem with being a school in special measures is that, even once you have done the hard yards to transform behaviour and teaching, and instil a culture of courtesy and positivity, the reputational damage prevails. The only thing holding us back from recruiting more students and filling vacancies is the label: a label that it now looks like we will have for an additional six months, at least.

And so, instead of an Ofsted fear-factor, we favour a visit. We’re looking forward to showing off our beautifully behaved students and scholarly culture to Ofsted.

Even though the inspectorate has said that a visit next term will not be an inspection by stealth, we will use it as an opportunity to demonstrate how well our students transitioned back to our ambitious curriculum following lockdown, and how well-placed we are to continue any blended learning necessary.

We want to show that the school described in the Ofsted inspection report from February 2019 no longer exists. This isn’t about pleasing Ofsted - it’s about gaining validation for the students and the staff who have worked tirelessly for 18 months to turn the school around. 

We’re not ‘inadequate’

It’s also what the community needs, and deserves. Our parents and carers are our greatest supporters and have shown unswerving faith in us. They know we are not “inadequate”.

And so, while lots of my peers would not welcome a visit from Ofsted and see it just as an additional pressure at a time when we are all adjusting to our new normal, we actively want the validation of the progress we have made. We want the validation for our team, for our community. But, most importantly, we want it for our pupils. 

So much so, that we’d actually prefer a full inspection rather than the “professional conversations” that are being proposed. We’d love inspectors to come into our classrooms and talk to each of our teachers.

We’d love them to talk to our pupils and to see what polite and well-adjusted young men and women they are. We’d love them to see every nook and cranny of our school, so they can witness the far-reaching changes we have made.

Welcoming Ofsted so wholeheartedly will undoubtedly raise an eyebrow or two, but we know we are a good school now, and we want everyone else to know it, too.

Carly Waterman is principal of Lodge Park Academy in Corby, Northamptonshire, part of the David Ross Education Trust