In 1902, Holly Mount School in Bury was shut down following a scandal over alleged brutality against the children. The next year, the House of Commons noted that one reason why the abuse was allowed to continue for so long was because of infrequent and cursory inspections, which one MP said were nothing but ‘hard officialdom’. Over a century later, it seems little has changed: school inspections are still ‘hard officialdom’.
Ofsted’s reputation for being bureaucratic, punitive and demoralising has only worsened since the suicide of head teacher Ruth Perry in 2023, after her primary school was downgraded to ‘inadequate’. Ofsted has proposed a series of reforms, but Julia Waters, Ruth Perry’s sister, has argued that the new system is ‘rushed’ and ‘fails to learn’; it is simply repeating all the ‘same risks as before.’
Teachers are no longer expected to just be subject specialists, but disciplinarians, mental health champions, surrogate social workers, pastoral role models, PSHE experts and parents by proxy
She is right: the new ‘report card’ is a rushed botch job.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in