Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has urged parents to “join the PTA, don’t join the pile on” and engage with schools “in the right way”, amid rising abuse of leaders and teachers.
Schools Week has documented rising levels of abuse and harassment of teachers and leaders from parents. School leaders have been confronted outside their homes, spat at and “offered out” for fights.
Speaking to a meeting of charity Parentkind, which represents parent-teacher associations (PTAs), Oliver said the world “seems to be getting more antagonistic and adversarial”, adding he could “understand why a school leader might be wary of engaging with parents.
“But I always found that the way to defuse tensions, tackle rumours and build common purpose with parents is more communication, not less. More openness, not less. And more information sharing, not less.
“So, I say: join the PTA, don’t join the pile on.”
A 2024 poll of 1,600 National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) members revealed more than 80 per cent had experienced abuse from parents in the previous 12 months.
Just over a third said they experienced such abuse monthly, with 16 per cent saying this typically happened every week.
And an Edapt poll last year found 9 per cent of teachers said they had been the subject of an allegation from a parent.
Rate of parent complaints ‘feels high’
“Obviously, some of these are legitimate grievances, and parents should be able to raise concerns. But nearly 1 in 10 of teachers feels high to me,” Oliver said.
He said Ofsted “want[s] to encourage parental engagement…engagement in the right way”, adding that “more openness and transparency” is the “only way” to restore the relationship between schools and parents.
Oliver said he wants the watchdog “to play its part in better communication”, and said its proposed report cards will help provide “more details and nuanced information”.
