But something happened that left me compelled to post. Something unexpected. Something incredible. A positive experience of OFSTED.
Now, our report isn't final yet so I can't comment on any judgements but I thought I'd share what they wanted to see and what we had to produce so that some of you who read this may be even better prepared when your turn comes!!
Background
Some of you who know me will know that I have had an extremely bad experience at the hands of an inspector; and whilst my complaint was upheld, it really did affect how I viewed the whole process and my opinions on the quality of inspectors.
A referral by my then headteacher to anger management counselling failed to exorcise those demons. But rather strangely, this most recent experience did...
Day 1 - the phone call
I am Deputy Head in a small Junior school in Yorkshire. We have some very challenging behavioural issues so I carry a Walkie-Talkie with me at all times. The message came through from the office - "Mr Stitcher, your presence is required URGENTLY". This normally means a child is climbing out of a window; but I checked my watch - exactly 12 pm.
I walked into my Head's office to see her on the phone. She looked up and mouthed the word "OFSTED". My heart sank... I was now wishing it was a child climbing out of a window.
After all the details were taken, the chaos began. For the teachers, it was a case of reviewing their lesson plans but I was really pleased to see that excellent lessons had been planned prior to the call - that was something that at this point, I could do very little about.
My role included Literacy co-ordinator, Assessment co-ordinator, ICT co-ordinator, DSP and behaviour mentor. But every part of me was saying "DATA"! I knew that whilst I needed to sort my own lessons out (I was only timetabled to teach twice during the visit), my largest responsibility would be to prove to the inspectors that our data systems were rigorous, effective and that good progress was clearly evidential.
Day 1 - the night before
I'd brought Essex Target Tracker with me from my old school. It was buggy and not always accurate but it was far better than tracking data on Excel spreadsheets. We were only one full term into using it. But I'd always known that when we got the call, the data would be there.
But now I was regretting not printing it off. I stayed at school until late printing off data to show the progress the children had made since September. I confidently said to my Head that if they need more, they'll ask. And I set off home, feeling quite smug.
Day 2 - Rochdale
The morning of the inspection. I set my alarm for 5.30 am and woke up, nervously excited. I looked out the window to see a dusting of snow but thought nothing of it. By 6.00 am, I was in my Volvo S80 and ready to go. I set off to work listening to Radio 2 (It's Vanessa Feltz at that time - who knew?!).
Driving down a road called Wardle Road towards a roundabout, I braked gently and found that my car had no grip on the road at all. I headed helplessly towards the roundabout and sounded my horn to warn oncoming traffic that I couldn't stop. As I reached the bottom of the hill, I swerved to the left and missed another car by a matter of millimetres. On a normal day, I would have abandoned the car and gone home. But this wasn't a normal day.
Still shaking, I continued to drive until I reached another hill. And no matter what I did, my car would not travel up the hill. I pulled into a side road and called by Head. She told me to get a taxi - bearing in mind I live near Rochdale and my school is 22 miles away...
By 7 am, my taxi arrived and by 8 am, I was at school. Shaken up but ready to go. Of course, the inspectors arrive at 8 am too. I quickly paid the driver and began setting to work - knowing that I would have to worry about getting home later!
Day 2 - The First Data Meeting
My first meeting was schedule for 10.30 am. I sat down opposite the Lead Inspector and asked him what he wanted to know. He simply told me to tell him what I wanted. So I did.
I gave him APS progress since September for all of our year groups. And sat back, feeling quite pleased with myself.
But then he asked me:
- What about APS progress since entry (we're a Junior school)?
- What about vulnerable groups?
- What about boys and girls?
- How many children are making good or better progress in each year group?
- What about APS progress since you and the new Head arrived?
And it was then I realised I'd under-prepared.
Now, not having a teaching commitment in the afternoon, I was able to prepare all of this data that day and I was desperate to show it to him!
Unfortunately, he'd insisted that we have another meeting the next day.
Day 2 - Literacy Meeting
Since arriving here, I haven't done as much with Literacy as I'd have liked - I've been busy with behaviour and assessment. But I knew that our last OFSTED had cited reading as an issue. So I'd prepared a list of all the things we have done to target reading. But I was expecting the 'So what?' question.
With this in mind, I compared progress in reading this time last year with now. The data clearly showed that the gap had narrowed. And I smiled as he jotted this information onto his F form.
By the way, that night I got a taxi home costing a mere £40!
Day 3 - The Next Data Meeting
Armed with a ring binder filled with data, I went into that meeting with one intention - proving that progress was good.
I went through the data quickly and concisely - so quickly that he told me to slow down a few times.
And I couldn't help but think if I'd done this properly the first time around, he would have been happy yesterday.
And afterwards, he thanked me. He actually said 'Thank you, that was very concise. You did well'. I was taken aback! An OFSTED Inspector was being nice to me.
Other Points
I didn't mention the other inspector in the team. But he was a genuinely nice man. He came to give us the opportunity to show our school in its best light. He was polite and courteous whilst maintaining the rigour expected of an inspector.
I was so grateful as to his manner and conduct that I emailed OFSTED (and this time it wasn't for a Freedom of Information Act request designed to waste time and money). I wanted them to pass on my thanks and gratitude for restoring my faith in OFSTED. Two days later, he phoned me at school to thank me for my comments which had been read by his bosses.
Having only just survived my journey to work that first morning, I was left pondering some of life's deeper questions when a Google Search of that inspector revealed that he was also a vicar...
And so in the space of a couple of days, two courteous OFSTED Inspectors with the interests of the children at the heart of the way they conducted their inspection cured me of my OFSTED phobia...
And to this day, I've not listened to "I'm not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks...
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