by John Howells

How very sad this week to learn of the death by her own hand of a dedicated headteacher. The evidence would suggest that she took her own life as a direct result of the findings of the inspection of her school. I am in a unique situation to comment on this issue since I have been both inspected and for a short time was an inspector myself. I also am the parent of a son who is currently the headteacher of a large primary school. What is very obvious is that the system needs a radical change if it is to serve as an instrument to drive up standards in schools. It has clearly lost the confidence of the teaching profession.

It is right that parents need to know how the education of their children is being conducted. Quite rightly everyone wants the best for their children and schools that are not providing adequate teaching and learning need to be helped to improve.

Currently the fear of being inspected is very real. Headteachers are under enormous pressure. Many argue that they are underfunded for the job they are expected to perform. Recruitment and retention of staff is extremely difficult. At present I am acting as a sounding board on a regular basis as my own son struggles to cope with the constant pressure that running a school creates. His sleep is disturbed as he fire fights on a daily basis. Teachers are leaving the profession and many are seeking early retirement for the sake of their mental health. There is little doubt that my son will leave long before retirement age to save his sanity.

My own experience is very different. Back in the day I was inspected both as a school teacher and subsequently as Head of a University Department. Whilst any inspection brings nervous tension to those being inspected I found the experience friendly and supportive. Things have changed. Taking early retirement I trained to be an inspector myself. The training process was a full week in a classroom and written work to complete in the evening. The method of teaching was vigorous but not the standard of teaching I would have expected. I got the impression it was geared to intimidate us. Once qualified I did a dozen inspections before deciding it was not for me. On my inspection team I was the only one still involved in teaching. I found the style of inspection aggressive and an “us and them” situation. Ex HMIs were chiefly on the inspection team. I found arrogance in the approach to the inspection process. Frequently staffs were left in tears. I had to explain several times to nervous staff that I understood their fears and that I was there to help not to destroy their work. It was not uncommon for staff to go off sick and avoid the inspection.

What then is the answer to see schools are monitored and that the process is fair and less confrontational? First it needs to be made clear to all that the process is to be a collaborative venture to help schools deliver for their pupils. The use of the term ‘inadequate’ is unhelpful. If there are issues the school needs to address then the term ‘needs support’ is more appropriate. Frequently school weakness is a combination of issues. If you have a lack of experienced staff and staff shortages then it is inevitable that standards will not be as good as they should be. Headteachers can do little about this but seem to take the blame.

Before an inspection there need to be a longer lead time for staff and inspectors to work together. Inspectors need to be given more guidance in how to relate to staff. The role of a teacher has become overwhelming so it is little wonder they are leaving in droves.