����Vlog

Headteacher unions have challenged Ofsted over its decision - described as “inhumane” by one leader - to continue school inspections during record heatwaves last week.

Headteacher Chris Edwards said he was encouraged not to defer an inspection during last week’s red alert heat warning, only to have it later paused against his wishes. The experience left him and his staff “broken”, he said.

Around a quarter of schools closed early last week as parts of England saw temperatures rise above 37C.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the NAHT school leaders’ union have written to the watchdog demanding an explanation for its decision to pursue inspections.

Inspection in heatwave ‘left everyone broken’

Ofsted received 14 deferral requests that mentioned the hot weather last week, with eight being accepted, the inspectorate told ����Vlog.

Two further inspections were paused due to rising heat forcing schools to close. Neither school had requested a deferral.

One of the schools that did request a deferral was Brighton Hill Community School in Hampshire.

The headteacher, Mr Edwards, told ����Vlog he twice requested a deferral of the inspection due to the temperature, but was told by the lead inspector that it was unlikely his school would meet the .

After a day of inspection when temperatures exceeded 39C in some areas of the school, the headteacher said that “everyone was absolutely broken”.

“Kids were vomiting left, right and centre, but I didn’t have anyone available to oversee these health and safety concerns because everyone was so wrapped up in the inspection. It’s very clear that this was not right,” Mr Edwards said.

He added that he was encouraged by the lead inspector to continue with the inspection, despite telling the inspection team that it was “incredibly unfair to the point where it’s dangerous”.

The school closed early on Wednesday due to the heat. However, the inspection was continued until shortly before closure, when Mr Edwards said the lead inspector opted to pause the inspection against the head’s wishes.

“The children were going home at 11.30am anyway. Any pause we made then would not have protected their health and safety. For the mental health and the wellbeing of my staff, I did not want to accept a pause,” Mr Edwards told ����Vlog.

“No team should ever have to go through an experience such as this. Our treatment, which was now to be extended, felt inhumane.”

Questions over risk assessments

Headteacher unions have raised concerns with Ofsted about its decision to continue inspecting during the heatwave.

Pepe Di’Iasio and Paul Whiteman, general secretaries of the ASCL and NAHT respectively, wrote to Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver on Friday.

“I am concerned that, given this very unusual situation, inspectors would not be seeing schools operating anything like ‘normal’, with staff having to rightly prioritise the response to the challenges they are facing,” the letter said.

“In this context it seems highly unlikely that inspectors would be able to carry out inspection in the usual manner, which could, in turn, have an impact on the evaluation of a school itself.”

The union leaders asked Sir Martyn why the decision was taken to continue with inspections at the start of the week, and what risk assessments were taken out beforehand.

Ofsted is yet to respond to the letter, but has sent an acknowledgement, ����Vlog understands. It does not comment on individual schools or inspections.

The government has also faced urgent calls to introduce measures to help schools battle the heat, such as maximum working temperatures.