Give them a break !

I was Ofsted-ed in different secondary schools on 4 occasions. It's the stress (and extra work) generated by senior management before, and the absolute exhaustion for weeks afterwards that I remember years later.
Covid had produced both stress and exhaustion for 2 years, and that Ofsted are going about their business as usual, to me, is obscene.

Our GD’s school is closing at the end of March thanks to Ofsted.
It’s been a wonderful happy place since 1945 but the powers that be don’t like the way the school is run, the head apparently spends too much time teaching.
The staff,children and parents are devastated.

I suspect there’s rather more to it than that Sago.

My late DH was an HMI and then a registered Ofsted inspector. He stopped when they were required to report on individual lessons and teachers because he said nobody could make any kind of judgement on the basis of half an hour on a given day. When HMI saw a lesson which raised concern they would discuss it with the head of department, not report on it.

No wonder teacher retention is so hard.

Having worked in many different schools over the years I've heard so many stories about ofsted inspections, what was done to bend the rules and get the school through, schools that failed on single issues, schools which manged to get outstanding although there were many rumours circulating about their inadequacies, it's difficult to have any faith in them.
There seems to be an illusion that before Ofsted there was no support or inspections in schools. Of course there was, but it was done in the spirit of encouraging and helping teachers to do their jobs and to improve their practice. It was supportive and informative. Local inspectors were not people who zoomed in, ticked boxes, stayed in a posh hotel and then left, they were locally employed and maintained contacts with the schools in their area.

It's a shame that parents rely on Ofsted reports to determine whether a school or college is 'good'. The inspectors will measure and record - only the things that can be measured and recorded. The really important things can't be measured, though.

It wasn't the physical environment, my teaching, their learning - or even their results that worked the magic. It was the communication, the role models, the infusion of positive attitudes, the friendship, camaraderie and enjoyment that made all the difference.

trisher in the 60's they were called "Educational Advisors" and that was their job.
You can't blame inspectors that the job has now changed beyond recognition.
FWIW my DH is currently not staying in a posh hotel as you say, and lunch is a quick sandwich, and writing up until 10 pm.
I agree Hetty58 that the inspection is merely a snapshot on that day or so. Impossible to get the whole picture.

That’s all well and good Hetty but what you need on your cv is good exam results. You can only show your communication skills and positive attitude once your cv has landed you an interview - and I don’t need to tell you what a competitive world we live in.

Lucca, you wanted to primarily raise the question of the timing of current inspections in your OP, and I believe your comment may have been overlooked.
Inspections were of course suspended during covid and there is now the inevitable backlog. My DH had one lined up for the week of the first lockdown, and a couple in the following weeks. The Inspectors are playing catch up with lots of those. So most of the schools were pretty much preparing for the visits two years ago! Other than a quick ask as to how things went during lockdown, that period is not inspected in any depth. However, areas like IT, preparation and organisation, and general communication with parents might actually have greatly improved and receive great praise in current inspections.
It is unfortunate the stress any inspection brings and I can sympathise. I wish anyone in teaching or with offspring in teaching all the best.

*GSM• A report from Ofsted in January criticised the school following a visit in November, highlighting issues with the multiple roles held by the head, which is said was impacting on its strategic direction.

Ofsted said: "The headteacher is also the proprietor of the school.

"The school does not have a governing body.

"The strategic vision and direction of the school are set by the headteacher alone.

"She is aware of the weaknesses in the school, but lacks the capacity to make improvements.

"This is because she holds multiple roles with the school that take up a considerable amount of her time."

Taken from the local paper, the head cannot afford to run the school and not teach, the school was slammed by ousted.
The boiler broke down on the day of the inspection which put the heads role under scrutiny.
It was exceptional circumstances but it was enough for a poor result from Ofsted and the straw that’s broke the camels back for the lovely head.

Well I hope today’s Ofsted Inspectors have relevant qualifications and experience for the area they are inspecting.
That was a chief complaint in the past. They actually knew nothing except their own ideas based on childhood.

I was in a school where the teaching of French to a group of children was criticised. What the Inspector actually observed was a language assistant explaining a story in Gujarati to a group of children of non-English speaking children.

She had no knowledge or experience of schools where that might be a part of daily life.

In spite of explaining to her the reference to the “French lesson” was in the draft report.

Sago been there, done every job in the book (including cleaning the toilets) as the school's sole proprietor, no governing body. My heart goes out to that Head. I could not afford to run the school and not teach a full timetable, along with running 3 after school clubs. But every child was happy, well educated, well rounded and successful in their futures. Lovely supportive parents too.
My strategy was to get out and move to France when I saw this coming! I would not have survived.

So it goes much deeper than you originally said and doesn’t sound remotely satisfactory.

Taken from the local paper, the head cannot afford to run the school and not teach, the school was slammed by ousted.

I'm not laughing at you Sago because I know it is a typo, but ousted should be the new word for OFSTED!

trisher

Having worked in many different schools over the years I've heard so many stories about ofsted inspections, what was done to bend the rules and get the school through, schools that failed on single issues, schools which manged to get outstanding although there were many rumours circulating about their inadequacies, it's difficult to have any faith in them.
There seems to be an illusion that before Ofsted there was no support or inspections in schools. Of course there was, but it was done in the spirit of encouraging and helping teachers to do their jobs and to improve their practice. It was supportive and informative. Local inspectors were not people who zoomed in, ticked boxes, stayed in a posh hotel and then left, they were locally employed and maintained contacts with the schools in their area.

I so agree - the whole thrust of an OfSted inspector's role is to fly in, make judgements and vanish over the horizon. The unrelenting collecting of stats by schools is there to feed the inspectors. When there were local supportive inspections, the inspector knew the area, the school and its surroundings, and was backed up by resources that could be used to improve the school: courses for teachers and for governors, making links with other supportive schools for CPD etc. They had a positive role. This cannot be said for OfSted.

Hetty58 - I do not think parents are mow particularly swayed by the OfSted grades - OfSted has been around long enough now for parents to have sussed that it does not measure the things that they want for their children.

Germanshepherdsmum - results on a CV are only a tiny aspect of the picture. Employers too have got wise to what is going on - they know that these pieces of paper are only part of the picture. I have seen young people who have landed excellent worthwhile jobs, not because of the qualifications they had/or did not have, but because they are sensible, good communicators and honest and hard-working.

The education system is geared towards teaching what OfSted wants them to teach, rather than providing an enriching curriculum that turns out young people with confidence and social skills. Children who lag behind the set targets know that they are seen as also-rans. It would be so much better if schools were left some freedom to nurture these students and to build on their qualities, so that they become confident in what they can do.

We have so many young people needing mental health services now - services that are virtually non-existent. They have left the school system feeling worthless, in spite of teachers' best efforts. Better to have confidence in oneself as you really are, rather than collect GCSEs like charms on a bracelet.

The inspection system is no longer about supporting schools to do better; it is a stranglehold on the whole curriculum, a burden to teachers and a barrier to young people's chances in life and mental and emotional well-being.

It arises from politicians who have no educational experience, but feel it is fine to micro-manage curricula, and to impose their public school educational models on all children, when this is neither desirable nor practical.

I agree with everything you write Luckygirl3.

Except that there are also very stringent inpsections in independent schools along very much the same lines as in state schools. So the all encompassing public school educational models dig was a bit unnecessary. Isn't it the fact that these politicians are not educationalists themselves and therefore unqualified, wherever they might have been educated?

I can't spell either inspections not inpsections!

Sorry sago but that sounds like a range of complex problems which are much broader than the head doing too much teaching.
I think minimising the importance of educational qualifications is generally only done by those who can afford to do that. For many children they are a lifeline to escape their situation.

Josieann You obviously understand having been in the situation.
The school was so happy, the children well rounded and confident having had such a good primary foundation.

I was a school governer years ago and have worked in the state system so I have a reasonable understanding of Ofsted and it’s aims.
The report was unfair.

I totally agree Galaxy. No good going to a nice happy little school that doesn’t equip you with the qualifications to get somewhere in life. You won’t get anywhere reflecting on your happy school days.

But then we get down to the real question, "Should everything be based on qualifications and academic achievement?" Nope.

It’s a good start though isn’t it? Too many children are leaving primary school with inadequate reading skills for example. Jay Blades may have been able to make something of his life without being able to read, but that was because he was rescued from a life of drug dealing and petty crime - which is what so many young people with an inadequate education fall into.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Josieann

trisher in the 60's they were called "Educational Advisors" and that was their job.
You can't blame inspectors that the job has now changed beyond recognition.
FWIW my DH is currently not staying in a posh hotel as you say, and lunch is a quick sandwich, and writing up until 10 pm.
I agree Hetty58 that the inspection is merely a snapshot on that day or so. Impossible to get the whole picture.

They were actually HMIs Josieann - Her Majesty's Inspectorate. www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/hmi/1970-today-and-tomorrow.html
Educational Advisors were employed by the local authority to run courses and offer advice but they were seperate and additional to National and Local Inspectors.
Your DH may not stay in posh hotels I've met quite a few inspectors who do. I always thought how much better education would be if the money they cost was ploughed into schools and staff.
The advantage of HMIs is that they had a group of assigned schools and they built up relationships to support teachers and develop good practice.

Josieann

*Lucca*, you wanted to primarily raise the question of the timing of current inspections in your OP, and I believe your comment may have been overlooked.
Inspections were of course suspended during covid and there is now the inevitable backlog. My DH had one lined up for the week of the first lockdown, and a couple in the following weeks. The Inspectors are playing catch up with lots of those. So most of the schools were pretty much preparing for the visits two years ago! Other than a quick ask as to how things went during lockdown, that period is not inspected in any depth. However, areas like IT, preparation and organisation, and general communication with parents might actually have greatly improved and receive great praise in current inspections.
It is unfortunate the stress any inspection brings and I can sympathise. I wish anyone in teaching or with offspring in teaching all the best.

I thought you wrote that your DH works for the ISI, not Ofsted.