Ofsted Pause Proving How Undervalued The Early Years Sector Is

I’m always hesitant about posting anything so quickly after headlines go live for fear of being too reactionary. Reactionary posts are often inaccurate and we end up with “fake news” being disseminated.

However.

The information coming out about the Ofsted pause in inspections is sickening to me as someone who works with an Early Years setting.

So what am I talking about?

This morning as I was enjoying my nutritious oat milk porridge with berries and flaxseed, I read this article from Schools Week which discusses how the new Chief Inspector at Ofsted, Sir Martyn Oliver, is launching an internal enquiry following the death of Headteacher Ruth Perry. The pause is essentially being put in place whilst staff undergo mental health training and Oliver meets with Industry leaders.

My kids have just gone back to school, and reading this article I felt hopeful that this new leader was going to implement some much needed reforms as we enter the new year. In the article we also hear about many of his other longer term ideas for reviewing and changing how Ofsted work and how they work with schools and educational settings and overall the article felt positive.

I will say that I questions what “a couple of weeks” will enable in terms of whole team training and gaining insight from industry leaders. This is an enormous subject and issue, and two weeks isn’t much time to embed any insights gained but, at the very least, it shows that this is being taken seriously.

Whether it’s being taken seriously because they need to salvage their public image following Perry’s death or whether it’s because Oliver actually cares about education settings is yet to be seen.

And interestingly The Guardian were much more negative in their headlines on this pause, saying that "“Ofsted bows to pressure…” and also says that:

“His predecessor, Amanda Spielman, came under fire last month after a briefing memo revealed Ofsted’s lead inspectors would spend just 90 minutes on a briefing to address concerns raised by Perry’s suicide.”

The Guardian have an interesting article on that here, if you are interested.

Anyway, I happily sent the Schools Week article to the management team at the setting I work with, only for them to tell me that there is a lot of controversy because Early Years are being excluded from the pause. It just defies belief!

Neil Leith, the CEO of the Early Years Alliance has said:

“Our own research clearly shows that inspections are not just a cause for concern for providers but their biggest cause of stress. Why, then, is early years continually forgotten when steps are taken to address wider concerns about Ofsted inspections? 

“The fact that early years inspectors, like schools inspectors, will receive mental health awareness training is undoubtedly a positive step, but we are yet to receive any explanation as to why nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are continuing with inspections while this training is undertaken when this is not the case for schools. “

Honestly Ofsted anger me, my own experience with them, as a Chairperson for an Early Years setting as been abysmal. In handing over from the previous Chairperson, I contacted them on multiple occasions to make sure that all paperwork was in place for me, knowing that if it wasn’t it could mean the closure of the setting for inadequate governance. And yet they made it near impossible to communicate with them or get any reasonable answer as to how I could find the information out for myself. When I submitted feedback on this and how it took nearly 9 months for me to get an answer from them and that they needed to review their communication procedures I essentially was told that they did not need to perform a review, that they were fine and no further action would be taken.

I can’t help but think of the Dad in Matilda “I’m right, you’re wrong, I’m big, you’re small, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Image from Retro Styler (https://www.retrostyler.com/blogs/retro-styler-blog/5-lessons-we-learnt-from-matilda)

This is the culture that Ofsted needs to address and work on, and it sounds from Schools Week like they will be. Fingers crossed.

My hope from writing this, and adding my voice to those who are already working tirelessly to gain better working conditions for Early Years staff, is that Ofsted will either clarify why Early Years appear to be excluded from their plans or that they will amend their decision and pause Early Years inspections whilst their staff are trained in dealing with mental health.

It is unacceptable to exclude the Early Years from any plans being made without a reasonable explanation.

I am currently fundraising towards Pebbles Early Years and also Pregnant Then Screwed, two charities within this sector. I will be undergoing 7 Ultra Hikes beginning at the end of January. If you’d like to support me please donate to the Go Fund Me and help me to raise £7,000 towards these amazing charities.