An Inspector calls

In a meeting with the Head and members of the Senior Leadership team, the Ofsted Inspector was focussed solely on getting essential information during his pre-inspection visit. Sitting as he was, with his back to the window, it was only the school’s senior staff within the meeting that could witness a dramatic turn of events taking place not 6 metres from the office window.

A student had brought a small gas canister into school and had, for some reason sinister or otherwise, released the contents of the canister in the lesson which resulted in the release of a foul and obnoxious smell.

Under the frenzied guidance of the young class teacher, panicked students streamed out of the room onto an adjacent grassed area.

It was fortunate that the double glazing the Head’s office enjoyed prevented all within from hearing the noise of the coughing and spluttering evacuees.

Throughout this period, and with the usual enthusiasm for pre Ofsted inspection dialogue, the senior team managed to engage the Inspector in non-stop, intense face-to-face conversation to prevent him from witnessing the unfolding drama behind his back.

He was, however, made aware of the situation later when the local fire brigade, resplendent with flashing blue lights, arrived to determine what the gas was and to dispose of the canister.