Ofsted Report Cards Are A Superficial Change The Inspectorate Needs A Culture Shift

(MENAFN- The Conversation) Ofsted, England's education inspectorate, has released proposals for a new approach to inspecting schools and other education providers. The proposals are now under consultation , with parents, teachers, education professionals and learners invited to share their views.

These proposals mark the latest changes to Ofsted after the public outcry following the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry in January 2023. The coroner's report in December 2023 ruled that the Ofsted inspection had contributed to Perry's suicide. But the proposals neglect key areas that we, having researched people's experiences of Ofsted, believe should change. These include the behaviour of inspectors and the process of inspecting schools.

Crucially, the proposal document emphasises the continuing importance and authority of Ofsted in raising achievement in the school system. And in a recent speech on the proposals, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said:“The improvements in inspection and accountability starting in the 90s have been instrumental for raising standards in our schools. With Ofsted's role right at its heart. And to those who call for the abolition of a strong, independent, effective inspectorate, I have said before and I will say again: never.”

Our current research work , analysing written submissions of experiences of Ofsted to the education select committee, has found a stark picture of the inherently unfair and unhealthy nature of Ofsted inspections and the toll they take on teachers.

Ofsted's chief inspector Martyn Oliver explains the proposed report cards.

Anticipating an Ofsted inspection informs almost everything teachers do, and under these proposals, this will not change. If Ofsted's position of power and authority over schools remains and these problems stay unaddressed, it will continue to cause risk and harm to those working in the state education sector in England.

Report cards

Central to the proposed changes is the introduction of report cards, which will replace a system which gave schools a headline judgement of“inadequate”,“requires improvement”,“good” or“outstanding”. Instead, a range of aspects of a school's remit – including leadership and governance, achievement, inclusion, attendance and personal development and wellbeing – will each be assessed on a five-point scale.

These range from“causing concern” (red on the report card) to“attention needed” (amber),“secure” (light green),“strong” (green) and“exemplary” (dark green).

These grading scales will also focus on how schools support disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils, and there will be more emphasis on the local circumstances which schools operate in. Whether a school meets its safeguarding responsibilities will be assessed not on a scale but as either“met” or“not met”.

Ofsted will also publish contextual data on the school. These data will include categories such as the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities, performance data, attendance and absence data along with socio-economic indicators for the area the school serves.

But concerns are already being raised . Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders' union the NAHT, has argued that the new system will repeat the high stakes of the previous single-word judgements.

Inspector behaviour and accountability

There are two specific areas where we believe the new proposals have particularly failed. The first concerns inspectors' conduct.

Ofsted's chief inspector Martyn Oliver has maintained that Ofsted needs to become more empathic and respectful , emphasising the moral and professional duty of inspectors.

The consultation document states that“professional dialogue between inspectors and leaders will be a priority”. But the appalling behaviour that has been alleged of some inspectors is not acknowledged, and there is no indication as to how this culture of harm is being addressed.

The second concerns the inspection process. There is no mention of Ofsted becoming more accountable. In her independent learning review for Ofsted, former chief inspector Dame Christine Gilbert recommended the institution of an improved complaints system for when a school believes an inspection outcome is unfair. But this is not mentioned in the proposals.

Neither is there any consideration of sharing the evidence base – the information gathered by Ofsted inspectors during their visit to a school – on which an inspection judgement is made. Presumably this would be too time consuming, as suggested by Amanda Spielman , another previous chief inspector of Ofsted.

It is perhaps unsurprising that Ruth Perry's sister, Julia Waters, has commented that the risk of harm from Ofsted remains.

We would therefore seek far more than a simple rebrand of the previous Ofsted model. Only a root and branch reform of the inspectorate would address the fundamental issues affecting teachers and schools.

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