What’s the relationship like between your members and Ofsted?
We’ve got 19,000 members who are heads, deputies and assistant heads, and inspection always figures on their agenda. Part of my narrative over the past year and a bit has been that given 89% of schools are good or outstanding, why do we spend so much time allowing Ofsted to set the agenda? We think it’s disproportionate in terms of the influence it wields and one of the things we want to do as an association is try and put Ofsted back in its box.
What should be the focus for Ofsted, do you think?
Under Amanda Spielman, Ofsted says it’s focusing on curriculum, because that’s the most important feature of a school, and we’d agree with that. We also welcome that it says it doesn’t have a preferred view of the curriculum – but there are contradictions. Look at the Bold Beginnings report, for example. It certainly implied a preference for an increased emphasis on reading and writing. Ofsted is also quite dismissive of schools which have a two-year key stage 3. It seems to me there’s an inherent contradiction there.
We’d argue the question Ofsted should be asking of school leaders is “What’s distinctive about your curriculum in your school, in your community? What are you doing for the children in that area that they need?” That would be an empowering approach. It means we’d have an inspectorate that’s encouraging all of us to make decisions based on what we think is right for our young people.
Damian Hinds recently announced an overhaul of the accountability system – do you think this will mean headteachers can rest easy?
I think Damian Hinds recognises that while schools, particularly academies, were promised liberation – to be able to concentrate on the things that matter – high-stakes accountability is pulling headteachers in different directions. There’s always a problem when something like the Key Stage 2 tests are used not only to tell parents how their child is doing, but also to make a judgement about the performance of the teacher in Y6, the performance of the headteacher and the performance of the school itself. It’s very hard for even the most confident school leader not to wake up in the middle the night thinking, What if we get terrible results? What if we’re named and shamed in the local paper? What if we’re moved into Special Measures?
Damian Hinds is saying that we need to be clear about the role of regional school commissioners and how that fits with Ofsted. This clarification, which we await, will be a helpful one – because otherwise, it feels like everybody’s inspecting.
There are currently big problems with teacher retention. What are the most serious concerns?
I think teaching is starting to look a bit of a luddite profession, compared to becoming a management consultant, or taking a job where a good work-life balance and flexible working arrangements are easier to achieve.
Justine Greening was strong on the idea that teaching has to make itself more flexible. Our primary members have been very good at this, but there’s more to do if we’re to make teaching a ‘must go to’ profession.
Workload has perhaps the biggest impact on retention, and while a lot of problems stem from the endless juggernaut of government reforms and expectations, school leaders have to recognise their contribution as well. Because of the high-stakes accountability we now have, heads pass the anxiety they feel on to their staff and create an audit culture, whereby you’re not just preparing lessons but having to provide evidence that you’ve done so.
We must put trust back into the classroom where it’s been lost, and say “You’re the expert in this – you don’t need to demonstrate to me the quality of your planning, because that will show in your teaching.”
What’s the solution?
I believe we’re at a turning point in terms of needing to reinstate trust at all levels. We need more trust in school leaders that they’ll do what’s right for their communities and children. Leadership, meanwhile, needs to place more trust in teachers so they can channel their energy into teaching children, instead of demonstrating to us what they’re doing.
If you talk to Dr Karen Edge at UCL, who’s a globally recognised expert in retention, she’s suggests looking at Ontario, where the government and teaching unions sign a five-year agreement in which they pledge to never say anything negative about teachers and education. I think there’s something in that – changing the narrative around education.
How do the changes to teacher training feed into current recruitment issues?
It used to be that you’d train in a university department and work in schools. It wasn’t perfect, but now we have something like nine different routes into the profession and it’s bewildering. Frankly, this needs to be simplified.
There’s also been a trend in some schools – particularly those in rural or coastal areas that may be under pressure, with communities that have lost faith in education – to look for ‘quick fixes’. This is the Michael Wilshaw ‘school in a box’ idea [where problems with temporary or underskilled staff are solved by giving teachers all the materials and scripts they need to deliver lessons], but I have to say that’s precisely what we don’t need at this point. We need teachers who are passionate about teaching, developing their skills as teachers, and getting the joy of seeing how they’re getting better year on year. That will be made easier if there’s less monitoring and more stability in the curriculum.
Following the DfE’s recent announcement on pay rises, what advice would you give to headteachers anxious about the impact on their budgets?
Schools will have to find the first 1% of the pay award from their own budgets and this will put further strain on already tight finances. The Education Policy Institute in March found that around 7,500 schools were unlikely to receive sufficient additional funding in 2018-19 to meet the single cost pressure of a 1% pay settlement.
Unfortunately, headteachers have had to become very adept at managing budgets under great financial pressure and will have anticipated this additional cost in their planning. Our advice to schools would always be to take a strategic approach to financial planning, aligning the school’s development plan to available resources and ensuring they develop and maintain robust procurement and financial systems.
In the longer term, schools desperately need more funding from the government.
Career timeline
1984
Begins teacher training in Leicester, later securing his first job at Garforth Comprehensive in Leeds
1990
Joins Huntington School, York, where he is head of English and assistant head of sixth form
2002
Joins King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds, where he remains as headteacher for 15 years
2014
David Fulton publishes Geoff’s book, Don’t Call It Literacy, helping teachers of all subjects deliver English
2017
Becomes general secretary of the ASCL following a landslide victory based on an anti-establishment message
2018
Gives National Education Trust annual lecture calling for a more humane approach to judging schools
For more information, visit ascl.org.uk or follow @ASCL_UK.
