Head teachers have raised concerns over proposed changes to Ofsted’s school inspection report cards, with some warning it risked replicating the “worst aspects of the current system”. Ofsted announced the new format after abandoning single-word judgements in 2020. Ofsted Director Sir Martyn Oliver has said the report cards will better enable parents to distinguish between schools based on areas such as attendance, inclusion, behaviour and leadership. The report will have five possible grades based on certain areas, for example, “causing concern”, “attention needed”, “secure”, “strong” and “exemplary”, and will also report on areas such as safeguarding.
According to Prof Julia Waters, the new format appears to be “a rehash of the discredited and dangerous system it is meant to replace”. Calls for change have come in the fallout of a court ruling that an Ofsted inspection in 2023 contributed to the death of head teacher Ruth Perry. Soon, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is expected to outline plans to address the issue of failing schools.
School leaders’ unions have criticised the proposed system, saying it will add “enormous pressure” to schools and could lead to a “severe recruitment and retention crisis”. They also worry that the scoring and grading of schools will generate “bewildering” tables for parents. Advocates of the report card system, however, argue that the more comprehensive format will help parents access a broader range of information about schools and inform their decisions.
Ofsted’s new report card format will be used across all types of educational establishments, and Ofsted said it is tailoring the format specifically to each sector. Public consultation will run until 22 April, and trials of the new system will be conducted in the intervening months
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
