Should Ofsted inspections be done undercover?

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Yeah, it would be a bit hard, a random person can't just walk into classroom etc without showing who they are, they should definitely be more of surprise visits though, like the teachers aren't told they're coming in but the principals are if that makes sense?

Reply 21

username227498

Cesare Borgia

Why? We'd all kick off when they came and watch the teachers struggle to keep their cool and stick to all the discipline proceedings :biggrin:

We were worse than normal, though all of the really bad psycho kids were just given the week off lol.

I don't know why, but people just didn't really mess around when they were there. People only messed around in classes by certain teachers as well, ie. the ones who can't discipline properly. :p:

Reply 22

xCBRx

I don't ever remember a school inspection. Do they do these in Scotland? :confused:

Reply 23

Lucy :)

tillytots

Because the head teacher wouldn't tell his staff? :p:

Reply 24

ily_em

Totally unfeasible. I think they should just give less warning.

Reply 25

Cicerao

Random middle-aged person in the corner lurking...this will work. :ninja:

Reply 26

medusacascade-crow

I worked in a school for my gap year, coincidentally the school I had also attended 11-16.
We had an Ofsted inspection in the May and my god were the reports inaccurate!
The school itself is brilliant and the majority of the staff lovely and good at what they do, BUT the management/headteacher got 'Outstanding' even though it was absolutely atrocious.
Especially since the head has since been suspended with a pending investigation due to his terrible management skills and horrible personality.
But I'm not sure undercover would help, as far as I'm aware knowing in advance only made my job harder because I had to put together a folder of statistics that none of the inspectors looked at. Also, the head has the skills to make himself look amazing in front of the people that matter, he was just rubbish to anybody who worked there!

Reply 27

Cicerao

There should be less warning, but to be honest, how well you can fake good teaching and behaviour is probably related to how well you can actually teach/behave.

Reply 28

Blueflare

My school was always transformed for the day Ofsted showed up. I don't really see the point of inspections unless they are undercover to be honest.

Reply 29

Peachesishere

whisperings

I agree. My school was like a completely different school whenever Ofsted were about.

This, it's ridiculous, completely defeating the point of an inspection.

When my school had an inspection they had us doing all sorts of crap. We have this disgusting toilet which is so old it has open pipes where the water just trickles out of the sinks and down the rusty old pipes into the drain. There's virtually no paint on the walls apart from a big painting of Ariel and Sebastian the Crab. And the only way you can get to the toilet is by having to ask pastoral for an ancient key with a vile old rope on it. Ergh disgusting. And funnily enough during the inspection the toilet was 'out of order' Ergh, I so would have loved to give the inspector a little tip off.

Reply 30

ChrisBan

I have always taken the view that standards inspections should be undercover, or should occur when there has been no time for the organisation to prepare to be inspected. My thoughts are that this would provide a true sense of what occurs day to day and the organisation can't simply paper over the cracks for the inspection. This was something picked up on in that "Undercover Boss" on Channel 4 the other week where the head of Best Western in the UK went undercover and found out the franchises were cheating the inspections because they knew they were happening weeks in advance

Reply 31

Aphotic Cosmos

squareroot1764

My mum works in a primary school, and she said about how they hid all the problem kids and went to great lengths that week to look good just for the inspection, but still only got a satisfactory. Imagine what's it's like normally, and it's just covered up so no one knows.

I think that the inspectors should just turn up on a random day with no warning at all, so they can get a better view of what the school's like.

Sorry, it's just the way you put it it sounds like your mum's school stuffed all the problem kids in a closet somewhere :awesome:

Anyway, undercover Ofsted wouldn't work, because you're either relying on the pupils or the teachers to tell the whole truth about the pupil, teaching and administrative bodies as well as make judgements about a school that doesn't necessarily reflect what an independent observer might see. Chinks in armour are more apparent from outside it than from within. In both cases you're putting the final judgement in the hands of a vested interest with a necessarily incomplete, biased picture of the school, whether it's pupils or teachers or even a non-academic member of staff like a cleaner ( :lolwut:

).

Ofsted inspections should be random, although stratified into regions to increase efficiency, and with the removal of a school from the selection pool for a year after an inspection takes place.

Reply 32

uninspirational

Yes. My college is apparently 'outstanding' but even the teachers think it's a ********.

Reply 33

Bakeyy

If they just read a thread like this it would probably tell them as much as they can get from sitting through endless lessons with teachers' pointless objectives, structured teaching and uncharacteristic smartness.

Ofsted should keep it as short notice and unobtrusive as possible, and also they should can all the BS they seem to expect from teachers, who all go out of their way to teach in a mind-numbing way that just follows the curriculum to the letter.

Reply 34

tinker_bell4

It wouldn't be feasible to do Ofsted inspections undercover. I think they should just turn up on the day, with no warning at all beforehand. That would probably give the best representation of what schools/colleges are really like day to day.

Reply 35

Sir_Vile_Minds

They could always call the school and say "One day next week Ofsted are coming to inspect. We will show our cards at reception and begin our inspection. Teachers are to not be informed." They can then go into the classroom mid-lesson mention to teachy that they're Ofsted and just sit in the corner.

Reply 36

username430180

Every time Ofsted visited my school, lesson objectives magically appeared on the whiteboards.

Reply 37

route37

Do you know how difficult it is to get into schools and into lessons? I think undercover would be impossible, but surprise inspections should be the way forward. Schools always have a rough idea of when they are due an inspection anyway, but they plan so many lessons and activities especially for OFSTED week. Being unprepared for the inspection is the only way to get an accurate insight into how good or bad the school really is.

Reply 38

spasmos

OL1V3R

They could just disguise themselves as teacher trainees, organise a trip at the school for a day or so, and let the reception at the school know that they're going to do so. That way, they've got a good excuse to go into the school and observe any discrepancies, without revealing that that's what they're doing.

EDIT: Or even better, they could put hidden cameras in the school for the day, recording lessons and teachers, and then use this as solid video evidence.

Hmm maybe, I still think it would be very difficult to instigate it, as I think schools have an option as to which teacher trainees they allow into the school, so the inspectors would have to get past that hurdle first.

As for letting reception know, I'm pretty sure that the receptionists would let their colleagues know, and the news would get round the school pretty quick, so the teachers would all know by the time inspections started being carried out.

As for hidden camera's, I don't know how the logistics of that would work with regard to data protection seeing as there are minors involved. I pretty sure parental permission would be required, so again the word would quickly get round to the teachers.

Also ofsted inspectors interview students personally to find out what they think of the school, and using undercover inspectors you wouldn't be able to do that.

So, although I agree that it is a good idea, as it would make for a much more realistic situation and therefore a better analysis of the school, I'm afraid I still maintain that it would not be a practical venture.

Reply 39

route37

Sir_Vile_Minds

Secretaries would tell the head teacher who will tell staff, even if they're asked not to. Even when Ofsted turn up unexpected, someone from the office usually runs around all the classrooms and alerts the teachers.