Ofsted resumes school inspections after pause at start of term

Ofsted inspections will resume in schools in England this week after they were paused to ensure inspectors were given mental health awareness training.

Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted’s new chief inspector, delayed inspections at the start of term following the inquest into the suicide of Reading headteacher Ruth Perry.

The watchdog has published new guidance for schools on how to request for an Ofsted inspection to be paused if staff show signs of distress.

Mrs Perry took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns.

In December, Ms Connor concluded the Ofsted inspection on November 15-16 in 2022 “likely contributed” to Mrs Perry’s death.

Since the inquest, the watchdog has made some changes and it has published a policy on how school inspections can be paused in exceptional circumstances – including where the headteacher requires support.

The pause would usually only be until the next day, but it could be up to five working days or even longer in “some very exceptional cases”.

The watchdog said that lead inspectors will talk through the changes with schools during inspection notification calls which will begin from today.

Ofsted is also considering separating safeguarding from the leadership and management grade as part of a formal review of where safeguarding fits within judgments.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The initial steps Ofsted has taken ahead of resuming inspections this week, are welcome – but NAHT believes it would have been better for inspections to be ungraded while more fundamental, far-reaching reform takes place, as recommended in our new report.

“That means not just enabling school leaders to raise concerns and pause inspections but also to tackle the root causes of the intolerable pressure they pile upon school leaders and their staff, which can have such a dangerous impact on their wellbeing.

“It also means reforming inspections to ensure they provide a fairer, more reliable assessment of a school’s strengths and weaknesses, including scrapping single-word judgements.

“We stand ready to work with the new chief inspector to bring about the changes desperately needed to help school leaders regain trust in the inspectorate, which has been so badly damaged in recent years.”

Education leaders in Southampton have joined together to sign up for a new initiative aimed at providing support for schools to help each other through the "strains of Ofsted inspections".

The ‘Caversham Covenant’ is made up of promises and pacts including:

• Heads to be offered supervision and support with a 'buddy' arrangement in place for those who are in the Ofsted ‘window', so that heads know there is someone they can talk to before, during and after inspection

• A directory of staff with Ofsted experience that can be called on in the event of concerns about the conduct of an inspection arising whilst the inspection team are still on site

• An understanding that for negative Ofsted inspections, the default solution is to support the head and current leadership team to address the issues causing concern.

Last week, Sir Martyn said: “As the new chief inspector, I am determined to do everything in my power to prevent such tragedies in the future.”

He added: “We must carry out our role in a way that is sensitive to the pressures faced by leaders and staff, without losing our focus on children and learners.”

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