What inspectors (and some teachers) really think

When David Bell took over as chief inspector, journalists reported increasing difficulty in contacting other senior members of Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI). Previously, HMI had been available for comment on an informal basis, but, according to my source, then the correspondent for a national newspaper, this was flatly stopped. Practising inspectors now have to sign a gagging agreement with their contractor, which gives HMCI total control of comment and information. Why they should want this totalitarian power escapes me - it seems an exercise in "creating the truth".

The comments below are from former senior HMI and serving lead inspectors. All were made directly to me, except for one, which was made to a group of contractors. More, please, on a confidential basis - I will not include any comment that would identify its sender.

Senior HMI

This is a candle, not a laser.

Ofsted at present is letting everybody down.

The touch is so light, you don't know you've been touched.

The professionalism of the organisation is not what it ought to be.

Lead Inspectors

The rigour we had has gone.

I spend my time subverting data.

You just tick boxes.

You don't get to the bottom of things...you can't investigate the people issues that are often an obstacle to progress.

There's not enough concentration on what goes on in classrooms, because there isn't enough time. It's too data-led. You don't really know what's going on.

The system is flawed

From a secondary headteacher

You can hide a lot.

From a primary deputy headteacher

They'd written the report before they got to the school. It was identical to their pre-inspection briefing.

Comments

[Carlotta]

Have recently heard that when heads realise that Ofsted is coming, they call taxis to ship out the troublesome pupils. Could this really be true, I wonder?

Am currently trying to understand the glaring disconnect between what Ofsted say about our local secondary, (which is good to glowing) and the reality of the situation (fights, bullying, stabbings, generally bestial behaviour). Could shipping out pupils be one of the ways that teachers manage to hide what's really going on?