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Heads blast Ofsted over snap inspections

 
Under fire: Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw
Anna Davis @_annadavis
18 September 2014

Headteachers have accused Sir Michael Wilshaw of creating “fear and intimidation” by considering no-notice Ofsted inspections for all schools.

The National Association of Head Teachers said the proposal by the head of Ofsted shows a “profound lack of trust in school leaders”.

About 40 schools are currently being inspected without warning following the alleged Trojan Horse plot in Birmingham which saw school governing bodies being taken over by hard–line Islamists. That affair led Prime Minister David Cameron to ask Sir Michael to consider inspecting all schools with no notice. Russell Hobby, general secretary of NAHT, wrote to Sir Michael saying: “After all the talk of reconciliation and confidence building, it is disappointing that we have again begun the new term on a note of fear and intimidation.” Mr Hobby said the move would prevent heads spending much time outside of their schools.

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He added: “The education system now depends on heads helping out in other schools. This will decline, the sharing of best practice will decline, and standards will decline ... We can have a self-improving school system or we can have no-notice inspection; we cannot have both.”

He pointed out that the “Trojan horse” schools were visited by Ofsted inspectors who found nothing wrong, and said headteachers are being made to “pay the price for the failings of Ofsted”.

Brian Lightman, head of the Association of School and College Leaders, recently said unannounced inspections treat staff like “naughty children”.

An Ofsted spokeswoman said: “We have expanded the criteria for unannounced inspections. This will allow us to respond swiftly and publicly where concerns over discipline, safeguarding, poor leadership or governance, or a narrow, unbalanced curriculum are identified.”