Pooles Park school in Finsbury Park

UNION leaders have called for a review of the way schools are inspected after a primary in one of the most deprived parts of the country was recently downgraded to “inadequate” and ordered to become an academy.

Critics of Ofsted, which visited Pooles Park school in Finsbury Park in November before returning its damning one word verdict and calling for academisation, say that the inspectorate “is never part of the solution and is always part of the problem” ­– and what schools really need are support and resources.

School inspections by Ofsted, the government body responsible for assessing education standards, have been under intense scrutiny this week following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life. Unions have called for inspections to be paused while a review of the inspection at Ms Perry’s school in Reading is carried out.

Her family have said they hold Ofsted partly responsible for her death after her school was downgraded from “outstanding” to “inadequate”.

National Education Union’s Ken Muller said of Pooles Park yesterday (Thursday): “Whatever the problems at the school – and many are likely to be caused or aggravated by the deprivation of the community they work in and the lack of resources all schools have got – Ofsted is not part of the solution. It’s part of the problem. The school needs support by sympathetic professionals and resources.

“It certainly doesn’t need being labelled as a failing school and particularly in the aftermath of the tragic death of Ruth Perry.”

Following Ms Perry’s death, another school said they would refuse to allow Ofsted in for an inspection, due to take place yesterday.

It is unclear whether the inspection went ahead, but the rejection of Ofsted by educators is regarded by onlookers as a sign of a growing strength of feeling among professionals.

Concerns about the government body stretch back to the year the modern Ofsted was created: Mr Muller, who was a history teacher at Islington Green Secondary School for 20 years, received a standing ovation at the 1997 NUT conference and unanimously won his motion calling for its abolition.

He had been spurred on by learning that the former chief inspector of schools Chris Woodhead had failed Islington Green that year with a verdict that contrasted with what the inspectors had thought.

Mr Muller added: “Up to now my anger is based on my personal experiences of Ofsted wrecking my school, and destroying the careers of some of my highly regarded colleagues.

“[Ms Perry] was someone who was a highly regarded headteacher – whatever strengths and weakness she may have had, she was obviously highly committed and well regarded by parents and her colleagues. We don’t want Ofsted anywhere near our schools.”

The NEU has called for Ofsted to be replaced with peer inspections between schools.

The report into Pooles Park found pupils were “not well-prepared for the next stage of their education” and highlighted behaviour and reading standards as concerning.

Inspectors also criticised leadership for not managing a merge of different year groups effectively, suggesting children’s curriculums were ill-planned and poorly delivered by teachers at the school.

One of the challenges faced by the school in Lennox Road is falling rolls; a problem for schools across the capital as pupil numbers continue to drop due to a falling birth rate and families relocating to more affordable areas.

Last year one of its teachers, Isha John, was named teacher of the year at the Islington Education Awards for her determination to bring “high-quality home learning” to her pupils during lockdown.

Pupils at the time praised her “amazing” lessons.

The school’s leadership declined to be interviewed by the Tribune this week over the recent inspection.

A spokesperson for the Town Hall said: “Islington Council and the leaders of Pooles Park Primary School are determined to give every child and young person the best start in life, including an excellent education that gives them the opportunity to thrive and fulfil their potential, as we work together to create a more equal future.

“While we are all disappointed with the outcome of Ofsted’s inspection assessment, we accept their findings. As is the standard procedure, the Department for Education has issued an academisation order for the school. However, this could be a lengthy process and this particular outcome is not guaranteed, therefore no final decisions on the future of the school have been made.”

Their statement added: “Right now, our top priority is the quality of education the children receive and so the school leadership and Islington’s education team are working very closely on plans to immediately improve education standards and address the issues identified in the report.”