The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, told headteachers she would be tempted to punch any Ofsted inspectors who were rude during school visits, earning a rebuke from school unions and Ofsted’s chief inspector.
Speaking to the Association of School and College Leaders’ (ASCL) annual conference in Liverpool, Keegan said she had been “delighted” to hear that Ofsted inspectors had been instructed to treat staff in schools with greater respect.
“I heard recently from a fantastic school I went into. They told me how their Ofsted experience had gone, and I was shocked, I was actually shocked. I thought, ‘If I’d have met these people I’d have probably punched them.’ They were really rude.
“You expect people to be rude when you’re a politician, you sign up for that. But when you are trying to run a school and educate children and change lives, you don’t expect somebody to come in and not be respectful,” Keegan said.
Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector of Ofsted, when asked about Keegan’s remarks, said: “I think people should act with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect on both sides.”
The behaviour of Ofsted staff during school inspections in England remains a controversial issue since the death last year of Ruth Perry, a Reading primary school headteacher whose suicide followed an Ofsted inspection that downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate.
Oliver, who became chief inspector in January, said he took Keegan’s remarks to apply to a “previous period” before his appointment.
“I’m much more interested in a fresh start and calming down tensions. That’s far better in the interests of children and professionals in the country going forward,” he said.
Keegan’s comments attracted stern criticism from Unison, which represents many Ofsted staff.
Mike Short, Unison’s head of education, said: “Clearly there’s much that can and should be improved in the way Ofsted inspections are carried out. But to suggest punching people is an appropriate reaction is not becoming of a government minister.
“Making light of violence in schools when staff are increasingly likely to face assaults while doing their job is in very poor taste. Ofsted inspectors are already dealing with a great deal of hostility while they work. So much for showing respect.”
Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat education spokesperson, said: “This is the latest gaffe from a minister who has a potty mouth, an obviously quick temper and still thinks she is doing a – insert expletive – good job. Hardly the qualities we should be instilling in our children.”
Keegan’s comments are the latest example of her tendency towards unguarded remarks. Last year, after an interview about school building failures, she was recorded as saying: “Does anyone ever say: ‘You know what, you’ve done a fucking good job, because everyone else has sat on their arse and done nothing.’”
During a question-and-answer session at the conference with Pepe Di’Iasio, ASCL’s incoming general secretary, Keegan described Liz Truss’s short-lived premiership as “chaotic” and admitted that the government had failed to resolve the increasing demands for special needs education.
“The massive demand, of more and more children diagnosed or even not diagnosed but have special educational needs, that’s something that I think we haven’t got the right system in place,” Keegan said.
“If you look at special education needs, we haven’t built enough special educational needs places or schools. We have councils under pressure because families can’t get the right support that they need.”
Oliver told the conference that Ofsted was launching a “big listen” over the next three months, canvassing opinions from teachers, parents and organisations about the way schools in England are inspected after Perry’s death.
Oliver said Ofsted would change the way inspection reports were displayed on its website to highlight the full range of grades for each aspect of a school, rather than the single overall grade.
Labour’s Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said: “I can’t believe I have to say this, but the education secretary should focus on reforming Ofsted, not on punching working people. An extraordinary comment from a secretary of state painfully out of her depth.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
