Ofsted is to urge schools to “pause” inspections that appear to be damaging the mental health of their staff, as part of its formal response to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
One mentally-unstable woman kills herself over a trivial matter, and suddenly the whole world stands still?
But Perry’s family and school leaders said they were disappointed that neither the Department for Education’s nor Ofsted’s responses addressed the use of single-phrase judgments such as “inadequate” to grade schools, which they said was an impediment to real reform.
You can't appease these people, and you shouldn't even try...
“As the new chief inspector, I am determined to do everything in my power to prevent such tragedies in the futures,” said Oliver, who took over as head of Ofsted in the new year. 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.”
You've made yourself a hostage to fortune, because you can now be delayed by claims that you cannot disprove, because even asking for medical evidence of any 'stress' will be seen as exacerbating it.
Both the National Association of Head Teachers and the Association of School and College Leaders said Ofsted’s proposals were positive steps but did not fully address their concerns.
“This must be the beginning of a process for Ofsted and the government to improve the way in which schools and colleges are inspected – one that makes the system fairer, less punitive and more supportive,” said Geoff Barton, ASCL’s general secretary.
In any grading system, someone has to come last. I suppose it was inevitable the 'all must have prizes!' ethos would be used for the teachers as well as the pupils.
