Changes to Ofsted inspections “should feel energising” to leaders, the chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has said.
New inspections under the reformed report cards system began last week, with volunteer schools initially being inspected before a full inspection timetable resumes in the new year.
Leaders have warned that plans to judge schools with one of five grades across up to eight inspection areas will make the system more complicated and burdensome for schools, not less.
A wellbeing impact report commissioned by the watchdog warned the new report cards will create more anxiety for leaders with already “concerningly high” stress levels.
But addressing the Schools and Academies Show in Birmingham today, Oliver told leaders: “I want you to feel comfortable and motivated by the changes.
“Not anxious, but energised by a system that accounts for the complexity and richness of what happens in your schools every single day.
“And it should feel energising. This is truly a bold, defining change that fundamentally reshapes how we think about schools, and hopefully, how you all think about yourselves.”
Wellbeing ‘built into ever aspect’
He added that Ofsted had “done all that we can” to ensure reform is “done with you and not to you”.
The annual teacher wellbeing index published by the charity Education Support warned this week that wellbeing rates have dropped to a new low, with more than three quarters of staff experiencing symptoms of poor mental health due to work.
Oliver insisted today that “teacher and leader wellbeing is built into the very aspect of how I designed this renewed approach.
“Your workload matters. Your stress levels, as we’ve seen today, matter. The sustainability of your leadership matters.”
He said Ofsted had “heard loud and clear that inspection, I know this myself, can be a source of anxiety, and we’ve responded fundamentally by thinking about how we work with you during the inspection process.
“So when we inspect, we are asking you to take us on a journey around your school. Tell us your story. Inspection is a chance for a dialogue and a genuinely collaborative process in which we’re thinking together about what we’re seeing.”
Ofsted ‘not looking for a performance’
He also reiterated his previous comments that leaders need not do anything differently in front of inspectors.
“It has long been an Ofsted mantra that we don’t want you to do anything special for Ofsted. But I’m not naive. I’ve been in your shoes far too many times. I know that everyone wants to put their best foot forward…I think that’s just natural.
“But just know that we’re not looking for a performance. We want to see the real life of your school, to understand what it’s like to be a child at your school.”
He claimed that during pilot inspections for the new framework, leaders have “appreciated the clarity of the inspection process, knowing what to expect, understanding the schedule and having the transparency for up to two days”.
They have also “valued the collaborative approach and regular reflection meetings where they can discuss what’s emerging with inspectors.
“Learning walks, moving away from the old deep dive format, they felt much more natural and more representative of the normal school life, and there’s been an emphasis of the approachability of inspectors.”
Asked about the timing of inspections and the clarity given to leaders on when they might expect the call, Oliver said it was “absolutely in my mind to revisit timing.
He said he had “changed so much fundamentally in Ofsted in the last 23 months…that scheduling, the whole complexity of inspection just needs time to settle.
“And then I shall look again to see whether I can be tighter on the windows of inspection. That is absolutely in my mind to do that.”
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