St John Wall Catholic School Inspection: Someone Has to Do It

Sometimes there are issues when appointing a Lead Inspector to a school inspection.

Briefing meeting

Top Inspectorate Person (TiP): ‘I want you to lead the Catholic School Inspection of St John Wall Catholic School and …’

Fingered Lead Inspector (FLI): ‘Hold up there. Do you mean the one in Handsworth, in Birmingham, the one where over 50 different languages are spoken in the school community by pupils and staff? The St John Wall? That one?’

TiP: ‘Yes.’

FLI: ‘Why me?’

TiP: ‘You have led four Catholic School Inspections so far. You know what to do.’

FLI: ‘I am not worried about the doing side. How do I write a report about the place and do it justice, other than quoting some statement from their website and saying, “yeah they do that very well, and, they are hot on this bit.”

‘You want me to inspect that school and I am not a theologian, or a wordsmith, nor a gifted writer or published author? Unacquainted with the higher reaches of nuanced writing, I am experimenting with rewriting lists of judgments as compelling narrative. I am working still on illustrating judgements with examples from the evidence base to make the judgements come alive for the reader who has never visited the school.’

TiP: ‘We would hope all our inspectors aspired to such writing.’

FLI: ‘And you want me to do that for St John Wall school?’

TiP: ‘Yes.’

FLI: ‘Did you see their last Ofsted report from June 3, 2023? The Ofsted team wrote, in a public document, a phrase I have never read in an inspection report. They wrote, “The school is led with grace, determination and vision.” Five hardened Ofsted inspectors wrote that as their collective judgement! “Leading with grace” is not a key element in Ofsted’s criteria for evaluating leadership. What does it even look like?

‘The Ofsted team of hardened professionals, who have been around the track a few times more than is good for any person, then wrote, “Governors, leaders and staff put the best interests of pupils at the heart of what they do ... Leaders ensure that the well-being of staff is paramount ... They bear staff workload in mind when making decisions. Staff know leaders value and appreciate their efforts.”

‘How many schools dare claim that? How many do it?

‘Have you seen what they offer the pupils? The headteacher’s welcome page on the website lists a mind-blowing collection of benefits. She writes, “Here are some of the things that are on offer to pupils”. She lists seven elements that saturate the school with energy, hope and success, and writes they are, “some of the things on offer”. To make sure you get the point, she adds at the end of the list, “I hope that I have provided you a brief outline of life at Saint John Wall Catholic School.” If that list is the tip of the iceberg how massive is the whole deal?

‘Her welcome page contains the key elements you will find in the best examples of such pages anywhere in the world.

‘Did you notice she calls herself “headteacher”? Amazing. Words tell more than we can say.

‘You want me to write about how they understand and live out what it means to be a Catholic school, in that area, with their catchment profile? Even Ofsted remarked, “The school has a Catholic ethos.” A team of godless Ofsted Inquisitors and torturers picked that up in only two days.’

TiP: ‘You don’t know they were godless. I wish they said the same about all our schools.’

FLI: ‘What if I say “no”?’

TiP: ‘The Arch will batter you with his crozier, the big one.’

The Inspection Report 

The inspection of St John Wall school took place on 7/8 February 2024. It was the fifth outing for the Lead Inspector.

The report is well worth reading.

It is a well-written report with clear and crisp judgements with coverage of the elements required by the inspection framework. Excuse the slight wobble on mixing the school’s mission and its role in the diocesan mission. That confusion is common to most inspection reports. The school website deals with that duality much more clearly. They understand what they are doing. The three recommendations are a bit of a reach, but is anything beyond their reach?

The quality of the school website and newsletter is referred to in the report. The website should be compulsory reading for all those who still haven’t got the hang of writing webpages for MACs.

St John Wall's report has a sense of keen observation and astute pulling together of disparate strands of provision. The Lead Inspector mostly does justice to the complexity of the school and the richness of their understanding of what it means to be Catholic.

Avoiding technical terms and educational jargon is a blessing for the lay reader.

The report reassures the archbishop that this school is playing a full part in the diocese's mission to serve the gospel in the particular situation in which it finds itself in Handsworth.

This is a rare inspection report in acknowledging the existence of the archdiocese. Some reports don’t mention the diocese at all.

For a real treat, read the school’s website, sit the inspection report alongside it and ask yourself, does the report do it justice? Would you agree that the overall grade of “2” warrants asking the VAR referee for a check?

We have our opinion. You form your own.

The Catholic Inspections in Birmingham Catholic schools reports so far published for the Spring term list only four Catholic Schools inspected. The reports are notable for several reasons.

At last, the distinction between the diocesan mission and the school mission and even the school motto is being picked up and expressed clearly, with sound judgments supported by strong evidence.

More coherent use of the inspection guidance on criteria-based judgments is coming through.

A new star on the block is emerging in the writer of St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School Handsworth Wood report. The report has no hesitation in saying when an aspect is not correct, even on the delicate topic of collaborating with the local parish.

The quality of the writing is high. It is an impressive third outing for the Lead Inspector.

The Catholic Life and Worship section of St Joseph’s Hednesworth and The Faber Catholic Primary, Cotton also showcases some examples of best practice by schools and in the writing of the reports. These reports will help any school reviewing its approach to Catholic Life and Worship.

Three out of the four schools inspected, scoring high marks, are not members of a local MAC. What will press-ganged membership of a MAC add to the quality of what they do? In your wildest dreams you might factor in bureaucratic convenience to the diocese, if you value such an oddity.

Editing

The editorial team needs to match the pace of improvements of the report writers, particularly around insisting on clarity of language, following the official guidance, rooting out descriptions masquerading as judgments, sorting the confusion over phrases such as ‘school mission’, and making sure the grades match the text.

Not every reader knows about “mini Vinnies”.

Last word.

TiP: ‘You did a good job on St John Wall.’

FLI: ‘Thank you. Have you any more like that?’

TiP: ‘Several, in Coventry and Nuneaton.’

FLI: ‘Can I inspect one of those, please?’

TiP: ‘No.’

FLI: ‘Why not?’

TiP: ‘We will assign Lead Inspectors according to the system they use in Singapore for allocating headteachers to schools. When you show you can inspect the top schools, you will be allocated to do the same in the low achieving ones to improve their performance.’

FLI: ‘What does a Lead Inspector get out of that system?’

TiP: ‘God’s blessing and the Arch won’t batter you with his crozier.’

Disclaimer

I am not connected with the Birmingham Diocesan Education Service or the Catholic Education Service. Views expressed here are my own and are based on experience, research and evidence. 

My experience comes from teaching in and working with Catholic schools in many dioceses around England over many years.

The research investigated the best and the worst Catholic school websites in countries around the world, but especially in England.

An evidence-based approach challenges and refines the learning from the experience and the research.

I support Pope Francis’ concept of synodality. You are welcome to have your say. I listen.

Ted Dunphy