Changing the culture
HM Chief Inspector Sir Martyn Oliver sat down for an ‘in conversation’ event with FDA General Secretary Dave Penman, discussing the pace of change in Ofsted, challenging perceptions and tackling the long hours culture in Education.
The big theme in Ofsted since Sir Martyn Oliver took up the role of HM Chief Inspector in January 2024 has been change.
He told Penman this is something he brought with him from his previous role as the Chief Executive of a Multi Academy Trust. When going into some of “the worst attaining schools in the country”, Sir Martyn describes his approach as “change, change, change”.
“My whole raison d’etre was go in and change and hit the ground hard and fast,” he explains.
However, when approaching change in an organisation like Ofsted, Sir Martyn understands that change can’t be tackled purely from the point of view of a school leader.
“I’m coming from a schools education background and there’s very specific types of schools that I used to work in,” he said. “I didn’t want to carry the weight of responsibility saying the whole system should change on what I think, because what about social care, children’s services, early years, local authorities? What about all the other types of schools, non-association independent schools that I didn’t have an experience in? It can’t be down to just what I think as the new Chief Inspector.”
It’s this thinking that underpinned the Big Listen, which Sir Martyn explains was “the largest consultation event that Ofsted’s ever taken” and “a way of creating a mandate” to begin to “change the culture for Ofsted and the perception of Ofsted”.
Penman said this issue of perception is something the FDA often deals with, as “people who come in from outside the civil service” are “impressed by the quality of the people” but this doesn’t match with public perception of the organisations themselves. Sir Martyn recognised this, recalling “the sheer gathering of talent” he saw when he first entered Ofsted:
“I’m coming up against people who’ve just got a wealth of experience and, as you said, are really dedicated public servants… And that’s not just the HMIs and the people out there inspecting. I mean the administrative, professional and technical staff who are running the background, they are superb.”
However, this dedication to public service can lead FDA members to face challenges at work. “They’re working long hours and there’s no simple system that ensures they’re working reasonably. Quite often this is an issue that our members face because they have such a genuine commitment to what they’re doing,” Penman explains.
The Chief Inspector recognises that there is a “long hours culture”, which is also prevalent across the wider Education Sector. “We’ve got to look at workloads,” he acknowledges. “The only way to fix that is to ‘put the plug in the bath’ and say, let’s start off by considering a framework which will consider workloads right at the very heart of it. Workload for the providers receiving it and workload of the inspectors giving it.”
As a direct result of this discussion and FDA involvement, Sir Martyn has commissioned a working group on inspectors’ long hours, which is ongoing. A consultation on draft proposals to introduce a new Report Card and replace the ‘single word judgement’ with a new 5-point grading scale is also underway. The FDA has welcomed Ofsted’s approach but stressed it’s essential that the knowledge, expertise and practical advice of members must be taken on board as these reforms progress.
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