Teach Secondary 13.5

Navigating the Storm Adrian Lyons reflects on what we can expect from from Sir Martyn Oliver’s Tenure as HMCI, given the events of the past few months... O n January 1st 2024, Sir Martyn Oliver assumed the role of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) at Ofsted, marking a new chapter for the organisation responsible for inspecting and regulating services that care for children and young people. This change of leadership came at a particularly tumultuous time, with significant challenges and a legacy of contentious issues left by his predecessor. Atroubled inheritance Ofsted, under the leadership of the HMCI, isn’t a democratic assembly of education experts, but rather a body dedicated to implementing the policies and vision of its Chief Inspector. Historically, each newHMCI has brought about a distinct shift in direction, often repudiating the policies of their predecessor. The tenure of Sir Martyn’s predecessor, Amanda Spielman, was marred by controversy – particularly around her handling of the aftermath following the tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry. Despite the coroner’s findings pointing to significant stress caused by the inspection process, Spielman had publicly commented that the case was being used to ‘discredit’ the regulator – a remark perceived by many as being callous. Sir Martyn sought to signal a change in approach early on, by briefly pausing inspection activities to provide inspectors with basic mental health training. Yet this initiative, while well- intentioned, has done little to address deeper issues within Ofsted’s culture and operational framework. The elephant in the room Sir Martyn faces two fundamental problems that contribute to the stress experienced by both inspectors and the schools they evaluate – unrealistic inspection targets, and the retention of the four overall effectiveness grades. These issues are intertwined, and have led to a crisis of confidence in the reliability of inspection outcomes. Former HMCIs and educational experts alike have criticised the current grading system, noting that it has become easier to achieve a Good rating. Anecdotal evidence suggests that inspectors, wary of backlash and unsupported by the system, often opt to avoid the hassle of issuing lower grades. Another of Sir Martyn’s big early initiatives has been to launch the ‘Big Listen’ survey, in an effort to gather insights from educators – though this too has been critiqued for avoiding the elephant in the room that is the continued use of the existing overall effectiveness grades. Ashift in focus That said, Sir Martyn has signalled a willingness to address some of the more contentious aspects of the current inspection framework. One significant change taking effect in September this year is the elimination of subject deep dives fromungraded inspections. While welcome, if this is done in isolation then we’ll be in the strange situation of having a framework built upon a model of judging the quality of education via ‘subject deep dives’ which most schools previously judged Good or better won’t be subject to. Another notable departure from the previous regime’s approach is the disbandment of Ofsted’s CurriculumUnit. Under Spielman, there had been a strong emphasis on curriculum quality over mere exam results – though this focus oftenmanifested through a narrow ideological lens, sometimes alienating educators and subject specialists. The end of the CurriculumUnit thus signals a potential return to a less ideologically-driven evaluation of educational practices. Acomplex legacy Prior to 2012, Ofsted’s subject reports had been based on practical, observed evidence of effective teaching practices. The Curriculum Unit was different, in that it promoted a preferred ideological approach for a comparatively limited range of subjects, based on a narrow field of ideological research. (I have to declare an interest here, however, since my own subject area of economics and business, with its 83,993 A level entries and 127,004 GCSE entries in 2023, was among those subjects not considered worthy of the Curriculum Unit’s attention). Sir Martyn Oliver’s role as HMCI is undeniably challenging. With an imminent change of government on the horizon, there’s limited appetite for sweeping reforms. Yet his initial steps indicate a commitment to mitigating some of the most pressing issues within Ofsted. The task now is to balance the immediate need for practical improvements with the longer-term goal of restoring faith in the inspection system. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adrian Lyons was one of His Majesty’s Inspectors between 2005 and 2021 and now works with MATs, teacher training providers and LAs to support education; find out more at adrianlyonsconsulting.com 21 teachwire.net/secondary O F S T E D