Are you dreading ‘The Call’? Even if you’re not expecting an inspection at the moment, does the threat of an Ofsted visit sometime in the future make you feel sick? 

During my 29 years in education, I have been through 7 inspections. As a headteacher, I had 2 wildly different ones in terms of execution and outcome. I know what it feels like to:

• Not sleep for half of the week, fearing a phone call the next day
• Clock watch until midday. Then sigh with relief because nobody called. Then clock watch again, because maybe they’ll ring a bit later
• Worry that, somehow, we’d missed the call and that a team would rock up unexpectedly in the morning (hopefully, that was just my irrational thinking and not something anyone else does?)

School inspections are cited as one of the main sources of stress on school leaders. Particularly over the past few weeks, there has been an outpouring of anger and frustration towards the Ofsted process. 

This follows the heartbreaking news that Caversham Primary’s headteacher, Ruth Perry, died by suicide in between her school being inspected and the report being published. This report was going to downgrade the school from outstanding to inadequate. 

Ruth’s sister, Julia Walters, is campaigning to reform Ofsted – to make it a ‘more humane system’. In support, headteachers have removed banners from their premises and references to Ofsted from their websites. @FloraSCooper, the executive headteacher at John Rankin Schools, even attempted to block an inspection team from entering her school. 

There have been many news articles, blogs and online discussions about what this more humane system might look like. Schools, like any other organisation, do need to be held accountable, but within a process that’s no longer outdated but current, fit-for-purpose, supportive and helpful for ongoing improvement. 

We wait, take action where we can, watch this space… and hope.

The fact, though, is that, for the time being at least, Ofsted intends to continue working in the same way. Even if things do change for the better, having your work scrutinised and publicly assessed is bound to impact people’s mental health and wellbeing.

So, as school leaders, now is the time to review what you’re doing to reduce your own stress and anxiety and to practise self-care. 

Looking after yourself

As a head, you tend to put others before yourself. Now, more than ever, it’s clear that this has to stop. But how do you reset?

Manage your workload 

For me, headship was becoming more like running a business than a school. To ensure I still enjoyed the job and remembered why I went into the profession, I spent a lot of time in classes, as well as chatting to parents and my team. My treat to myself was covering PPA in Reception on a Friday morning. PE with 4 and 5-year-olds – loved it!

However, this meant that I did all of the other headteacher stuff in the evenings, at weekends or during the holidays - I used to write my School Improvement Plan abroad on my sun lounger every summer.

Feeling prepared, well organised and on top of things is vital if you’re waiting for an inspection. But life in schools can be hectic, and there are many times when the to-do list doesn’t even get an airing because you’re firefighting the entire day.

Just as you would give one of your teachers time and support if they were struggling to stay on top of things, you need to do that for yourself (even if you’re not struggling). That might be delegating the day-to-day running of the school for one day a week so you can work from your office undisturbed or, better still, work from home - with your Chair of Governors’ blessing.

You may need a change of mindset too. Heads can find it hard to share the load because, ultimately, it’s your name on the door and any Ofsted report. Yes, you do need to know what’s happening in the school, but there isn’t enough time in the day or space in your head to do everything yourself. So, longer term, it’s important to develop your leaders and trust them to do a good job. Our bespoke leadership training will help with this.

Make a difference

The thought of an inspection can be overwhelming and as though you’re being ‘done unto.’ Rather than focusing on the things that you can’t control (at the moment), put your energy into helping to make a difference and bring about change.

If you haven’t already, why not sign the petition to grant an enquiry into Caversham Primary’s inspection? At the time of writing, this has 212,000 signatures.

This one calls for a review of the current Ofsted Framework.

If you’re thinking of making a stand in any other way, it’s best to check that your governors agree and that you’ve spoken to your union. Any well-intentioned decisions, if unsupported, may cause you more stress in the long run.

Get help for your own (and your team’s) mental health

To help my school recover from our first difficult inspection and to move forward positively and happily, I bought Laughology in. We became a FLIP It Thinking school with everyone learning skills to cope, be more resilient and solution focussed. It worked (we got our ‘Good’ back two years later) and is the main reason that I now love being a Laughologist and sharing the FLIP toolkit with others.

The other thing that heads, in particular, need is good quality supervision. It can be a very lonely job, and you carry so much confidential information around with you. In terms of safeguarding situations, for example, you hear some harrowing things that you’re not able to share. 

Ruth Perry wasn’t allowed to discuss Ofsted’s judgement until the report was published and, according to her sister, ‘It just preyed on her mind until she couldn’t take it anymore.’ In response to Ruth’s death, many organisations have reminded us of the help that they can offer. Hopefully, you have a support network, but if not, and if you feel alone, you could contact one of these today:

• Free, confidential wellbeing support services on social media, like @Headrest_UK 
• The Employee Assistance Programme  - remember the poster in the staffroom that you put there for your team’s information; it’s for you too!
• Your attached Educational Psychologist – yes, their time is precious and usually spent writing reports for EHCPs, but they’re also there to support the adults in schools
• Your group of like-minded heads, friends and family. This includes the person that, when you’ve been inspected, you can confide in about your upcoming, as yet unpublished, grade if you need to. 

Because sometimes rules are made to be broken.

Sarah Creegan is a former headteacher and now Lead Education Consultant for Laughology. Her wealth of experience makes her the perfect advisor, facilitator and consultant for our education programmes. As well as being a Laughologist, Sarah still regularly works in schools providing leadership support and once over-hugged an Olympian at a railway station.