My 'outstanding' primary school's results are in the top two per cent. trends now
For months I have been waking up at 3am, crying. I can't stop thinking about the terrible day when four men in dark suits marched into the primary school where I am headteacher to carry out an Ofsted inspection.
It took them just a few hours to tell me that our 'outstanding' rating —which we'd been so proud of for 14 years — would be downgraded to 'less than good'. In the end, we were given the second lowest grade, 'requires improvement'.
I was horrified. It felt as if they had taken a sledgehammer to my life's work, everything I and my dedicated staff have worked so hard to build.
Our school has excellent academic results, coming in the top 2 per cent of state primary schools in The Sunday Times's respected rankings, despite being in one of the most deprived inner-city areas in England.
Yet the result of our inspection last September puts us in the bottom 12 per cent. Even my young pupils could see that those numbers don't add up. But under the unfair Ofsted regime, a school's reputation can be demolished at a single stroke.
One frustrated anonymous headteacher from the UK has slammed Ofsted inspections (stock image)
To the outside world I present a brave face, but I am heartbroken. So when I heard about headteacher Ruth Perry's suicide in January following her school's Ofsted downgrading, I felt I must speak out.
Her death has sparked outrage among teachers and parents, with a growing number of schools intending to lock their gates to inspectors.
A headteacher's revolt is gathering momentum, with many believing Ofsted needs a complete overhaul. And I am one of them.
Until 2019, schools rated outstanding were exempt from inspection as long as their results remained high and there had been no change in leadership. This policy has since changed and all 'outstanding' schools are being reinspected. The result is that 'outstanding' schools are being downgraded in what appears to me to be a deliberate campaign.
In 2021-2022, Ofsted's own figures show that only 17 per cent of the 370 previously exempt 'outstanding' schools inspected kept their status.
I believe this is a political decision by Ofsted to justify its own remit and to keep schools in a constant state of hyper-vigilance. Last November, its Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman appeared before the Commons Education Committee, where it was put to her by one of the MPs that Ofsted was deliberately downgrading formerly exempt schools.
She replied: 'Inspectors value their independence and impartiality. They guard that fiercely. And any suggestion from the top of Ofsted that there should be any kind of quota, or a push on a particular kind of school, would be met with absolute horror. I can assure you there is nothing of the kind.'
But there is a climate of fear among headteachers, with some buying in proxy Ofsted inspectors to interrogate the teachers, children and governors, so they say and do the 'right thing'. It makes a mockery of the whole process.
The head was 'horrified', saying Ofsted inspectors took a 'sledgehammer' to 'life's work'
By any objective judgment, the school I run is outstanding. Our SATs results — the maths, English and grammar tests taken by children in Year Six — are consistently better than those of 98 per cent of schools, far exceeding the Government's 'expected' level. We achieve these astonishing results despite the fact 50 per cent of our children are entitled to free school meals and 87 per cent speak English as an additional language.
The secondary schools our children go on to tell us they are not only academically excellent, but socially and emotionally well-rounded. In all my years as headteacher, we have never had to exclude a child. Our staff retention rate is high and we always have a waiting list of families eager for places. So when Ofsted came knocking we believed we were ready. We had just a day's notice, as usual.
On the morning, the four male inspectors quickly made themselves at home, taking over my office. From the start, they seemed to be looking to find fault.
The first question appeared straightforward: The lead inspector wanted to see our record that shows all staff have been properly vetted. This is a vital document every school must have and I produced it confidently. But he immediately said there were gaps in the record, adding threateningly: 'You'd better put that right by midday.'
There’s a climate of fear among headteachers
My stomach lurched. But when I checked the record, I realised we had, in fact, filled it out correctly. Fortunately I was able to
