Ofsted Fallout

The summer holidays may be here but the fallout from our Ofsted inspection casts an almighty cumulo-nimbus over the 6 weeks off. Plans are afoot to deal with the "issues" highlighted by the ever-so knowledgeable inspection team and the teaching staff are to bear the brunt of the average inspection findings.

Some teachers (those who are deemed "not up to scratch" by those at the top) are to be mentored by those considered "outstanding" on the staff. Rumours of two lists being drawn up in leadership meetings have surfaced:
List 1 - "Good" teachers who could perhaps achieve a regular "Outstanding" in observations.
List 2 - "Satisfactory" teachers who need to be got rid of.

I'm on one of the lists - I know that because I have been told that I'm being mentored from September and observed for part of a lesson every month. The pessimist in me would suggest the former, and that may sound bad, but having talked to colleagues, I've got off pretty lightly. One particular colleague is to be observed every fortnight - formally. All observations have been described as "supportive", meaning that the unions have little grounds on which to complain. Clever!

What's even cleverer is that all discussions over these "supportive" observations have been held in complete secrecy, meaning that upon entering the staffroom and finding a colleague with their head in their hands and asking what the problem was, they were in the same boat (pretty much) as me. The relief that crossed their face as I told them that I had had the same conversation and they had found out that they weren't alone was a joy to behold.

It appears to be clear that the Head, Deputy and Governors clearly hold the teaching staff to account over the Ofsted inspection, and as the legislation to dismiss "inadequate" teachers is becoming easier to navigate for senior leaders, teaching at the school is becoming a pretty unpleasant experience - and it's not even September yet!

What no-one (or perhaps everyone, but no-one will admit it) seems to realise is that had the senior management not given the school an over-inflated SEF (Self-Evaluation Form), which Ofsted read before actually visiting the school, and given a realistic SEF of "Good" then any other arguments we, as a school may have had with the inspection team might have actually been listened to. Instead, the inspection team quickly realised (correctly) that the Head and Deputy were hell-bent on achieving an "Outstanding" grade that was never going to materialise, and they would say anything in order to achieve that goal.

There's nothing like passing the buck though I suppose.

Cheers Pontius.