In April 2024, Ofsted commissioned former chief inspector Dame Christine Gilbert to undertake an independent learning review, in response to the tragic death of Ruth Perry in January 2023. 

Dame Christine’s terms of reference excluded the judgements or policies relating to the inspection of Caversham Primary School, where Ruth Perry was head. However, Dame Christine’s review is cautious not to treat the Ruth Perry’s death as an isolated event and is mindful of the widespread view (including that of her sister, Professor Julia Waters) that ‘… it must represent a watershed moment for school inspection leading to significant reform’ (page 5). 

NAHT particularly notes the following aspects of Dame Christine’s report, which make clear the need for deep and lasting cultural and institutional reform to the work of the inspectorate and Ofsted itself. 

Dame Christine’s comments on the need for collaborative system reform

• Dame Christine is clear that there is a need to ‘… rebalance the accountability model… ’ (page 32)

• She states: ‘We need one that not only gives account at school level, without many of the current pressures, but also supports improvements to the system by contributing to leaders’, teachers’ and schools’ professionalism. This should be more supportive of their work and result in greater ownership of the accountability system’ (page 32)

• Dame Christine recommends that ‘… the new government initiates a debate about the essential elements of a public accountability system as part of its planning for a school report card’ (page 32).

Reducing the high stakes of inspection

• Dame Christine notes how the tragic death of Ruth Perry ‘… shone a light on a climate of fear and frustration around school inspection, which had been building for years. This climate had the consequence of weakening trust in Ofsted, which was increasingly seen by many as defensive and unwilling to respond constructively to criticism. It also had an impact on leader and staff well-being in schools, and thereby contributed to the recruitment and retention crisis evident across the sector’ (page 2; NAHT emphasis)
• She explains that ‘reform is needed to develop an approach to accountability that lessens the unnecessary pressures associated with inspection and supports school leaders in shaping development that improve the lives of children and learners’ (page 2)
• And she emphasises that Ofsted ‘… needs to act in response to a number of very hard messages to effect real and sustainable change, and its progress in doing so needs to be closely monitored’ (page 2).

Communication

Dame Christine notes Ofsted’s failure to communicate effectively with Ruth Perry’s family, wider stakeholders, its board and its own staff (many of whom only became aware through media coverage), reflecting that this is an indicator of a defensive culture on the part of Ofsted.

• Dame Christine states: ‘… an Ofsted board member, reflecting the views of many on the board, described Ofsted’s approach as appearing to start from the premise that Ofsted had done nothing wrong and just needed to provide the evidence to demonstrate that.’ (page 8)

The effectiveness of the Ofsted board

Dame Christine comments on the effectiveness of work of the Ofsted board, observing: 

• ‘Considering the scale and impact of Ofsted’s work, the board’s role appears curiously limited… This degree of autonomy and entitlement for HMCI does not make for effective governance’ (page 28)
• ‘It cannot be right that every HMCI has the freedom to determine the range of the board’s decision-making. The common focus for each HMCI should be on demonstrating a sense of responsibility, a willingness to be accountable and an attitude of service’ (page 29)
• ‘There is consensus from current board members that the role of the board should be more than advisory and that this would be helpful in effecting change and reform. The Board, supported by the DfE, should therefore ensure that Ofsted’s governance framework is revised’ (page 30)
• ‘… the board’s approach to oversight should ensure that it is safe for people both inside and outside the organisation to say and do the right thing. It should promote a culture of openness, dialogue and active communication, both internally and externally’ (page 31).

Organisational culture

Dame Christine reports that the 2022 Tiplady report (which investigated organisational culture in Ofsted’s social care teams) found that Ofsted staff were nervous about challenging managers or the organisation, and that there was a lack of performance management to address poor performance and positive career development.

• Dame Christine’s review finds that ‘… performance management was patchy, with staff themselves expressing concerns that poor performance was not always dealt with effectively. Most HMIs spoken to as part of this review reported receiving no feedback, either good or bad, on their performance on inspections since passing their probationary year. They did not even see any evaluation forms submitted from schools they had inspected’ (page 20)
• Commenting on Ofsted’s new set of organisational values, Dame Christine states: ‘There needs to be a willingness to challenge, internally as well as externally, when people are not working in line with these values. The actual wording of the values is, however, less important than how they are built into the organisation to make them a reality. This is mainly through effective leadership and management and clear communication, as well as through challenging behaviour that sits outside these values’ (page 20).

Unpublished guidance/inconsistency

Dame Christine notes that some inspectors felt the inspection framework was ‘overcrowded’ (page 15), and that:

• ‘HMIs also referred to changes of emphasis that were not enshrined in written guidance. One example was a greater reliance on published data. There seemed to be some confusion about this, with HMIs second-guessing what was now expected. This underlines the need for more effective internal communication processes within Ofsted and for good professional development to support staff in implementing the changes’ (page 15).

Post-inspection surveys

Dame Christine notes: 

• ‘… obvious mismatch between the satisfaction suggested by these responses and those reflected in the externally commissioned research for the Big Listen’ and recommended that ‘… rather than being managed by Ofsted itself, the administration of post-inspection school surveys is commissioned from a third-party independent organisation, with surveys returned directly to that.’

Dame Christine recommended commissioning an:

• ‘… independent research company to collect and present periodic analyses of the surveys that schools are invited to complete after inspection. This will be recognised as an important change by the sector. It will also signal Ofsted’s commitment to being more open and transparent, and less defensive’ (page 15).

Complaints

Dame Christine notes NAHT’s findings that an astonishing 95% of respondents disagreed that Ofsted deals with complaints about the accuracy of inspection judgements effectively. She recommends:

• ‘There should be a focus on embedding an element of independent external oversight with the power to re-open inspection judgements’ (page 17).

Mental health

Dame Christine reported that some inspectors:

• ‘… when completing their evaluation of training like this, they understood that their submission was not anonymised. Worryingly, they were therefore reluctant to make any critical comments’ (page 23).

Dame Christine observed that:

• ‘… the work to roll out mental health training in 2024 be built on and expanded with more sophisticated training, regularly refreshed. This training should be very specifically designed to reflect the unique power dynamic of inspection, with specific models and tools to support inspectors to build appropriate relationships during inspection’ (page 24).

Inspection volumes

Dame Christine observed the adverse effect of heavy inspector workload on school leaders:

• ‘The review heard about inspectors working 10-hour days in school on day one of an inspection, with additional hours of writing up and preparation, taking the day up to 13 or 14 hours. This 10-hour day for inspectors inevitably leads to school leaders being in school well before the inspectors arrive at 8am and often two hours after they leave – so a long, stressful day for school leaders too’ (page 25).

Dame Christine identified the tension between declining inspection resource and the need to meet inspection volumes:

‘The review heard the phrase ‘volume trumps quality’ from inspectors, time and time again. Ofsted reported in its 2024 response to the Select Committee that its budget was 29% lower in real terms than in 2009/10’ (page 24).

Dame Christine recommends that:

• Ofsted advises the DfE and government of the dangers of chasing volume at the expense of inspection quality. Inspection processes and reports should support improvement by being useful and meaningful to those subject to inspection, to parents and the public (page 25).