Survey highlights need to tackle mental health toll of inspections

It soon emerged, however, that this pause would not include the early years, despite inspectors for our sector being expected to complete the same training – a decision that understandably prompted significant concern and frustration among providers. The inspectorate’s reasoning for this, it explained, was that, unlike schools, Ofsted has regulatory responsibility for the early years, as well as inspection duties.

A three-week inspection pause is not a solution to the concerns that have been raised about education inspections. However, the omission of the early years from this announcement does point to a much greater issue: that our sector has been all but excluded from inspection reform discussions, despite parallels between the challenges facing both schools and the early years.

Our recent report on the mental health of the sector lays bare the toll that inspections are taking on early educators up and down the country. Not only were they shown as the biggest cause of stress in the sector, with almost eight in 10 respondents worried about inspections on a regular basis, but the lasting toll this has had on the sector makes for a distressing read.

Inspections, and their lead-up, were described by early educators as “nightmares” with many recounting being unable to sleep or eat in days, weeks and even months before an Ofsted inspection. One said that the dread of upcoming inspections took such a toll that it prompted her to go into early labour.

There are of course many providers who have had wholly positive inspection experiences and have found the process a welcome opportunity to showcase the good practice at their setting. But when such a vast majority of the sector is saying there is a problem, it’s clear that something needs to change.

Last November, the independent inquiry Beyond Ofsted recommended that reform to the inspectorate should include an end to one-word judgments, a move which more than three quarters of our survey respondents also supported. Despite these similarities, there is a clear absence of focus on the sector in ongoing discussion around the need for change, with the early years excluded from many of the Ofsted reforms announced last year.

Increased understanding

That said, we remain hopeful. After all, the decision to ask all inspectors to undertake mental health training is clearly a positive step, and one which we hope will be a catalyst for increased understanding about the impact of inspections on the sector. And the fact this was announced within the first week of a new chief inspector at the helm suggests that addressing the impact of Ofsted inspections is a clear priority.

In addition, changes to the complaints process – which include enhancing professional dialogue during inspections and introducing new opportunity for providers to contact the inspectorate – are a positive sign that Ofsted is prioritising increasing collaboration and communication throughout the inspection process.

We are also working with Ofsted to support their efforts to help providers feel more confident to raise concerns during the inspection process and will be running a member-only session in March with Ofsted representatives on maintaining professional dialogue during inspections.

While some welcome progress is being made, it’s clear that significant changes are needed to both address the mental health impact on the workforce and ensure that inspections are a collaborative and positive process focused on supporting high-quality provision across the entirety of education provision.

Neil Leitch is chief executive of the Early Years Alliance.