OFSTED’s Oversight Must Continue While Reforms Are Agreed Upon

Opinion Piece: Brandon Clark. Published: 23 January 2024

The suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry was a tragedy. OFSTED’s poorly executed inspection of Caversham Primary School in November 2022 directly contributed to her death. While OFSTED must be reformed, it is crucial that inspections continue, with reforms being discussed and implemented longitudinally, to prevent this situation from ever happening again.

What Caused the Suicide of Ruth Perry?

The inquest into Ruth Perry’s death clearly established that the motives behind her suicide were intertwined with the November 2022 inspection of her school, Caversham Primary School. This was also the verdict of her coroner, her immediate family, and the staff she worked with. It is even reported that the OFSTED inspection sent her into such despair, she was drafting notes that reiterated the outcome of OFSTED’s inspection, writing “I.N.A.D.E.Q.U.A.T.E”.

The investigation into the November 2022 inspection established that the inspectors behind the outcome of Caversham Primary School’s performance had failed to carry out the inspection in a professional and satisfactory manner. Having found flaws in this initial inspection, a rerun of the inspection was subsequently carried out, with different inspectors, in June 2023, and dramatically shifted the inspection result from ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Good’; when Caversham Primary School was last inspected in 2009, they were rated ‘Outstanding’. However, while the inspection process needs incremental reform, I believe that pausing OFSTED inspections is an implausible solution to a complex problem.

A Brief History of OFSTED

OFSTED was first established as the Office for Standards in Education under the Education (Schools) Act 1992. The best description of OFSTED’s purpose and mission can be found in John Major’s 1999 autobiography (a superb read!). OFSTED’s goal, under the supervision of the Department for Education, was to establish more openness, transparency, and scrutiny in state-funded primary and secondary schools across England via inspections. This was just one of Major’s missions more widely when establishing the Citizens’ Charter, to increase accountability, transparency, openness, and performance.

OFSTED has formed a reputation for being a stringent body whose work enforces good practice in the state education system. Without OFSTED and their accompanying inspections, there would be much less integrity within the state education system, staff would be held less accountable, schools would be less open about the information they provide to parents, and performance would not be as meticulously assessed or rigidly reviewed.

Why OFSTED Inspections Are Important

It is a fundamental right for students, and parents alike, for their state school to be inspected on a regular basis, to reinforce those core values of integrity. This is why, despite the tragedy of Ruth Perry’s suicide, it is morally wrong for OFSTED to pause inspections at any time, even for as little as a fortnight.

The Government, as of 2023, has revealed that the average time between OFSTED inspections is roughly four years. This means that state schools expected to undergo a rigorous inspection will either have their inspection delayed, thereby holding up other state schools requiring an inspection, or not have an inspection take place at all – an affront to accountability.

Some schools wait even longer than four years to be re-inspected. Caversham Primary School’s last inspection, prior to the flawed November 2022 inspection, was in February 2009 – a whole nine years and nine months during which an inspection had not been held when expected (the school was exempted by law from this period). Although Caversham Primary School is currently rated ‘Good’ by OFSTED as of June 2023, not all schools have headteachers as robust and hard-working as Ruth Perry, who took over some time after the February 2009 OFSTED inspection.

In that gap of almost a decade, any other state school could have crumbled under faulty leadership, high staff turnover, and/or appalling student behaviour, even with exemptions by law from frequent inspection. The qualitative evidence shows that frequent OFSTED inspections are linked with improved educational provision. In 2022, OFSTED revealed that 70% of schools that had previously been judged ‘Requires Improvement’ in the last inspection cycle had improved to the ratings of either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’.

Therefore, suspending OFSTED inspections, potentially creating an inspection backlog, and hampering the wider work of OFSTED due to the actions of several abominable inspectors is not the right approach and is counter-productive to the reforms that are really required to make OFSTED accountable, sustainable, and more legitimate.

What Reforms Can Be Implemented?

I agree with the family of Ruth Perry on the need for OFSTED reform and that “lessons must be learnt”. However, all tools cannot be put down, even temporarily, over what happened in November 2022 – schools must continue to be inspected, accountable, open, and transparent. The news of further mental health training for OFSTED inspectors is a welcome reform, one that will reassure parents, students, and staff of the integrity of OFSTED inspections. However, more must be done, in tandem with ongoing inspections (which require reforms over time).

For example, in the case of Caversham Primary School, the inspectors behind the November 2022 inspection should be brought in front of either the Education Select Committee or a criminal judge. Their actions during the inspection, which have been reported to be rude, disingenuous, and unprofessional, should be further investigated and prosecuted where appropriate. Furthermore, OFSTED’s metrics of inspection need to be more appropriately applied considering certain contexts. The views of pupils could have their own section in OFSTED reports, to allow them more of a say with their school’s performance before OFSTED inspectors reach their final conclusions. There could even be room for a section regarding the input of parents, who can provide information to OFSTED inspectors based on their experiences with staff members and their school in settings such as parents’ evenings and one-to-one conversations. Finally, inspectors must be named on all OFSTED reports with their OFSTED contact details and a photo of themselves, to reinforce accountability and prevent the abuse of power behind Caversham Primary School’s November 2022 report from ever happening again.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Conservative Friends of Education or the Conservative Party. The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice or endorsement by Conservative Friends of Education.

Author: Brandon Clark

Published 22nd January 2024