Call to end hire and fire ‘football manager’ culture in schools
The IPPR said ‘overly simplistic’ school inspection judgments, such as inadequate or needs improvement, often trigger abrupt changes.
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Your support makes all the difference.A hire and fire “football manager” culture in schools should be ended, a think tank has said.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said “overly simplistic” school inspection judgments, such as inadequate or needs improvement, often trigger abrupt changes to management.
The think tank said this has fuelled a “football manager culture” in schools.
The IPPR report recommended that Ofsted should split reports in two, with a narrative version for parents and a technical improvement report aimed at school leaders and the regulator.
The institute said the Government should also create a new three-tier regulatory response involving “school-led development”, “enhanced support” or “immediate action”.
It also recommended that the Government increase the number of hours England’s teachers spend in training each year.
The report comes after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in January.
Her family say Ms Perry killed herself after an Ofsted report downgraded Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest rating to the lowest over safeguarding concerns.
Her death is the subject of an inquest due to start at the end of this month.