Ofsted chief inspector says he is ‘uniquely placed’ to lead education reform

Ofsted’s new chief inspector said his experience turning around “broken schools” makes him “uniquely placed” to make change for the better.

In his first major interview since becoming the education watchdog’s head inspector on January 1, Sir Martyn Oliver told The Times pupil behaviour was “certainly a challenge now”.

He told of one school he helped turn around where pupils were out of control.

Sir Martyn said: “Staff were on strike because the behaviour was so bad. Students were stopping staff, saying, ‘This is a no-go corridor. It belongs to the children.’

Everything starts with leadership, with vision and efficacy

“These are the schools I’ve walked into to try and give those children a better education.”

Sir Martyn recounted an experience he had with two schools in Nottinghamshire that he said had serious weaknesses.

“The head teacher was assaulted on the first day we were there. Now both are outstanding, so the entire town attends one or the other,” he said.

“That’s what matters when you get it right.”

Sir Martyn said that the key to change in the education sector comes down to school leadership.

“Everything starts with leadership, with vision and efficacy,” he said.

“I’m ensuring all staff are open and transparent and not defensive — and working with different groups.

“That’s how you change the culture of an organisation; I’ve managed to do that many times, I’ve gone into difficult schools with difficult cultures, and I’ve been able to turn them around.”

Ofsted will resume school inspections on Monday in the wake of the suicide of head teacher Ruth Perry.

Mrs Perry took her own life after Ofsted downgraded her school, Caversham Primary School in Reading, down from the top rating of ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’, Ofsted’s lowest rating, over safeguarding concerns.