Ofsted cannot be allowed to reform itself, say teachers’ unions

In July, Colin Richards and Frank Norris produced the results of an independent survey they undertook, asking respondents to review the inspectorate’s current and past performance. The survey was called 'The Alternative Big Listen'. The conclusion was that, OFSTED IS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE ONE- OR TWO-WORD JUDGMENTS SHOULD NOT BE USED A MORATORIUM ON ROUTINE INSPECTIONS IS NEEDED.

Meanwhile, headline news in the Guardian on Sunday 22nd September, quoted the sister of Ruth Perry, the headteacher who killed herself, said that the inspectorate required a, 'complete reset'. 

'Education unions are to warn that Ofsted cannot be trusted to reform itself, as headteachers ­continue to report that school inspections are leaving their staff feeling distressed. Professor Julia Waters, sister of the Reading headteacher Ruth Perry, who killed herself last year after an inspection downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate, will call on the government to make deeper reforms of the inspectorate at the Labour party conference on Sunday'...Waters, along with all four teaching unions, said the inspector still operated with a culture of “fear and terror”.