The hard workers and the ones with the good hearts,

The ones who just want to help.

Why are we judging those ones with nasty words

Like Inadequate

Requires Improvement

Or In Special Measures?

That’s not acceptable,

To say it with no feeling

And not caring what happens

To the ones shouldering weight.

Most teachers in the UK will be well aware of the story that broke last week, about a head teacher who recently killed herself after her school was Ofsted inspected and the school was deemed to be Inadequate.

Ofsted is our inspection body, and I do think that schools need to be inspected and held accountable because we are literally responsible for making sure that children can function in the big bad world. However, school leader seem to live in fear of the call that Ofsted are coming, and that seems like an indicator that this system is not working.

This head teacher appears to have been much loved by her colleagues and the community and having an awful label slapped on her pushed her over the edge – a good woman gone because of one word. And it seems that inspections are such a lottery depending on who you get and what kind of day they are having.

Teaching is such a stressful job and it’s lonely for the school leaders. To then feel as though you are being villified because of a judgement carried out over just two days, it seems unkind and unnecessary.

We should be supporting our teachers, not making them feel like they have no way out. I don’t know what the answer is, but it seems that Ofsted is not really working as it should.

Much Love

Rachel xx