Ofsted chief admits culture of fear around school inspections

It's the first time that Amanda Spielman has spoken since the death of the headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her life after she discovered that her school was to be downgraded from outstanding to inadequate.

The chief inspector expressed her sympathy for the family, but she strongly defended the inspection of the school, saying that she had no concerns about how it had been carried out, or whether it was fair.

In response to what has been a huge outpouring of anxiety around Ofsted, Spielman acknowledged that there was a culture of fear around inspections. But she attributed that not just to her organisation, but to a whole range of factors.

Her comments are unlikely to soothe the anger of teachers however, who since Perrys death, have been, day after day, expressing their fears and experiences of inspections that have been difficult. The chief inspector's comments jar with the first-hand accounts of many.

Oliver Dowden, the new deputy prime minister said that Ofsted had to be proportionate, but he said that the government does have confidence in how it's run.

For those of you who've just woken up or been busy bingeing on Netflix this Sunday morning, here's a recap of what you missed on Laura's show:

• Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman said she had "no reason to doubt" the inspection of a primary school whose headteacher later killed herself but acknowledged there’s a culture of fear around school inspections. She said she would talk to the family of Ruth Perry if they approached her
• National Education Union boss Mary Bousted said Ofsted inspections were not working "at all" and says the schools watchdog does not inspect them fairly
• New Deputy PM Oliver Dowden said he had overall confidence in how Ofsted is run, but that the proportion that safeguarding issues make up the overall rating needs to be reconsidered. He also said he was not considered a bully by his colleagues after a bullying inquiry that led to his predecessor Dominic Raab’s resignation
• Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said teachers should get above inflation pay rises and says he’s alarmed the government is refusing to negotiate with the unions ahead of further strikes this week
• Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth said his party has cut ties with the CBI in the wake of rape allegations at the organisation. He also said Labour would not ban supermarket buy one get one free offers on junk food “for the moment” - something panellist and Leon co-founder Henry Dimbleby is calling for

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Let's go back to Oliver Dowden's interview a little earlier, and pick up his comments on the emergency national alert that will be buzzing on all of our phones at 3pm today.

The new deputy prime minister denied the test of the national alert system - for use in cases of flooding, wildfires or terror attacks - was an example of so-called nanny statism.

He said it was "another tool in the toolkit of keeping people alerted during an emergency" and is currently in use elsewhere around the world, including the US, Canada and Japan.

He compared it to when the fire alarm goes off at work which he admits can be "a bit inconvenient and annoying" but said in future "people will be grateful we tested the system".

You can read more about the alert here - and we'll be bringing you live coverage of it this afternoon.

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Now let's bring you the panel's final thoughts.

The NEU's Mary Bousted is talking about upcoming strikes again, and says she hopes to hear from Gillian Keegan, the secretary of state for education. "I hope she calls us today," she tells Laura.

Reacting to Jonathan Ashworth's interview, Henry Dimbleby says it's worrying to hear Labour get "tangled up in a culture war" over junk food advertising.

He says two things need to happen: the government should increase free school meal eligibility and Healthy Start vouchers and supermarkets need to start adding buy one get one free offers for veg, rather than junk food.

And that's a wrap for this week's edition of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

Stick with us as we bring you analysis and reaction to today's big interviews.

Teachers in England and Northern Ireland are set to strike this week.

In England, Members of the National Education Union will strike on Thursday 27 April and Tuesday 2 May.

All four unions involved in the dispute have rejected government's offer, which included a £1,000 one-off payment this year and a 4.3% pay rise for most staff next year.

Unions want above-inflation increases, plus extra money to ensure any pay rises do not come from schools' existing budgets.

The government's offer included a £1,000 one-off payment this year and a 4.3% pay rise for most staff next year.

The starting salary for teachers in England is also due to rise to £30,000 a year by September 2023.

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Let's return to our earlier panel discussion now where NEC general secretary, Mary Bousted, was questioned about the ongoing teachers' strikes - with more scheduled for 27 April and 2 May.

What do you say to parents who feel strikes are damaging their kids' prospects, Laura asked.

Bousted said she'd love to sort it out but it's the government who is refusing to negotiate. She cited the last pay offer which was rejected by 98% of NEC members - "an astounding rejection" which the government should have used to re-start negotiations.

"My members don't want to be on strike but they feel there is no alternative."

Bousted went on to say that schools are running on crisis mode and children are routinely being taught by teachers not qualified in the subjects they are teaching right now.

You pack the kids off in the morning hoping not just that they have remembered their PE kit, but they'll spend a happy day in a safe place where they will learn something useful.

An excellent education can completely change a child's life. A poor one can be a waste of opportunity or worse.

For the first time in a while there's the beginnings of vigorous political debate about what is going on in our classrooms, and according to many different sources I've talked to in the last few days, it isn't pretty.

One senior school leader told me "everyone is cross about everything, all of the time". Another senior figure said "they'd never seen the sector so miserable".

But what is really going on?

Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills, inspects and reports on anywhere that provides education for young people in England - including schools, nurseries and childminders.

Schools or organisations are inspected every four years or 30 months depending on their status, and are then graded accordingly:

1. outstanding
2. good
3. requires improvement
4. inadequate

Many parents rely on Ofsted ratings to help them choose a school or nursery for their child.

One of the news lines from today's show was head of Ofsted Amanda Spielman saying she had no reason to doubt the findings of the inspections at headteacher Ruth Perry's school.

Ofsted downgraded it from outstanding to inadequate and Perry went on to take her own life.

Here's what Spielman told Laura about that inspection.

Laura asks Ashworth if Labour would cut its links with the CBI following rape allegations and he says "we have done...and I think the government have as well".

"I think the revelations, the stories have just been absolutely shocking," he says.

"I feel for the people who have been victims and the CBI have really got to get their house in order."

Asked if the CBI needs to be wound down he says it's up to the CBI to decide how it going to reform itself.

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Laura asks Ashworth if Labour would ban supermarket buy one get one free offers on junk food.

He says: "That's not what we are proposing for the moment but we do know we need to have an obesity strategy...as we have an obesity crisis in this country."

He says this isn't the time to impose more costs on families who are already struggling with rising food prices.

Asked about banning junk food advertising he says it is something that Labour has called for in the past and the government is supposed to be doing that anyway.

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Next up is Jonathan Ashworth, shadow work and pensions secretary, who is being asked by Laura about Labour's plans for tackling the rise in food prices.

He's asked about claims that some companies are profiteering from the cost of living crisis.

Ashworth says regulatory bodies need to look into these claims. He goes on to say that food manufacturing companies are facing higher energy bills and the government could extend the windfall tax to help bring down their energy costs and therefore reduce food prices.

He also says he would deal with labour market shortages in the food manufacturing sector - proposing welfare reforms to get people back to work for example.

He says the government is asking the British public to pay the price for 13 years of "economic failure", with higher taxes, higher energy bills and higher grocery bills.

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Shadow work and pensions Jonathan Ashworth is no stranger to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

He was on in March, when when he was quizzed about Labour’s job offer to senior civil servant Sue Gray and also weighed in after messages sent by former Health Secretary Matt Hancock during the coronavirus pandemic were made public.

Ashworth, who has been in the role since 2021, has been promoting Labour’s plans to encourage older workers and those with medical conditions back into work - this week emphasising the challenges faced by people with mental health conditions.

The MP for Leicester South was previously shadow health secretary during the pandemic - we still quite enjoy watching back this clip of his daughters interrupting two separate TV appearances.

Laura turns the topic to the upcoming local elections on 4 May.

She says time after time the Lib Dems say nationally there is a huge need for more houses to be built but locally they campaign very hard against them being built in their backyard.

Davey says he does not agree and in his constituency they are building more social housing than ever and you have to look at each plan individually.

He says the government has a developer-led approach to housing which has resulted in the wrong type of housing being built in the wrong places. What he wants is a community-led approach which will listen to local people.

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Next up is Lib Dem leader Ed Davey. Laura starts the interview by asking if teachers should get above inflation pay rises.

Davey says he's been alarmed at the government's refusal to get around the table and negotiate.

"They should get very near to inflation," he says. "People need a fair deal and if you look at the shortage of teachers... you're not going to be able to recruit the people parents need."

Laura asks would an 8% pay rise as teachers in Scotland have got be the right figure.

"That sounds to me in the right kind of ball park," he says, adding "it's got to come from negotiations".

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Sir Ed Davey has led the Liberal Democrats since 2020, after serving as deputy leader to Jo Swinson in 2019.

He’s been MP for Kingston and Surbiton since 1997, and served as energy and climate change secretary under the Conservative-Lib-Dem coalition, from 2012 to 2015.

As we mentioned earlier, he was quick to demand a by-election in Dominic Raab’s marginal seat after he resigned. He says Raab should have been suspended during the investigation into allegations of bullying.

Davey is also in campaigning mode ahead of the local elections on 4 May, speaking of his plan to "tear down" trade barriers and fix the Conservatives' false"botched" Brexit deal at the Lib Dems’ spring conference.

Kicking off the campaign, Davey drove a tractor through a wall of blue haybales - a not-so-subtle message that the party was targeting the "Blue Wall' of Conservative-voting seats.

We're hearing from the panel again now, reacting to those first two guests.

Mary Bousted, general secretary of the National Education Union, says its notible that Ofsted accepted there was a culture of fear in schools around inspections. But she says it is puzzling over how this squares with Spielman's comment that inspections are a positive and affirming experience.

She goes onto say Ofsted is not a functional inspections agency - but nobody is arguing schools shouldn't be accountable - just not to this one.

Lorna Hughes, editor of the Sunday Mail in Scotland, says it's obvious things need to be done differently. Checks and balances are needed but giving schools a day or two for inspections is concerning and more consideration is need over who is carrying out them .

Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of Leon restaurants, says Spielman's comments felt a bit defensive.

Laura asks Dowden about teacher Ruth Perry who took her own life following an Ofsted inspection which saw her school downgraded from outstanding to inadequate.

Dowden says he has "overall confidence in how Ofsted" is run but he says this is a tragic case that shows the proportion that safeguarding issues make up in terms of the overall rating of the school "does need to be looked at".

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Dowden is now asked about the situation in Sudan, which has seen fierce fighting for a week in a battle for power between two main military leaders. Laura asks what his government is doing to help UK nationals get home, why are they being told to just stay inside?

He insists their priority is to protect British nationals, but says it's clearly a complex and fluid situation. The Ministry of Defence is supporting the Foreign Office - but he can't go into detail about what's happening on the ground.

Brits there should stay indoors and tell the Foreign Office of their location, he adds.