Ofsted will check the quality of schools’ support for vulnerable pupils and the disadvantaged and “grade down” those that turn away children with SEND under a new “inclusion” criterion in proposed report cards.
The watchdog has also said it will notify schools of all routine inspections on Mondays, with inspections taking place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in order to reduce the “stress of waiting”.
Ofsted has published its response to its “Big Listen” consultation, which was launched earlier this year in response to the ruling from a coroner that an inspection contributed to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
It comes after education secretary Bridget Phillipson announced yesterday that headline Ofsted grades would be scrapped for schools with immediate effect ahead of the introduction of new report cards in 2025.
Report cards with ‘new criteria’
Today, Ofsted said those report cards would include “new criteria” to inform parents and carers about “what a school is doing well and what the areas for improvement are”.
The watchdog has not named all of the new criteria – it is planning wider reforms of its inspection framework – but said one will be “inclusion”.
Inspectors will “evaluate whether schools are providing high-quality support for children and young people with vulnerabilities such as socio-economic disadvantage and SEND”.
Sir Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector, told Schools Week assessing inclusion would involve looking at how well schools use pupil premium funding, and warned he would “grade down” schools that refused to take children with SEND or off-rolled them.
‘Local schools for local children’
In an interview ahead of the announcement, Oliver said he was “starting from the position of local schools for local children”.
Ofsted has not set out exactly what metrics it would judge inclusion on.
But Oliver suggested they could “measure inclusion by saying, putting children off going to a school, not because you can’t meet their needs, but because you don’t want to take on the most complex children that’s not inclusive”.
“And if people are doing that under the pretence of it might lower their results, or it might hurt their Ofsted grade, well I want to remove one of those fears right now.
“If they take on the most complex children and do good work for them, Ofsted will champion and celebrate their work. We won’t grade down schools for taking on complex [needs] children if they’re doing right by them.
“I would, however, grade down any school that off-rolled children or refused to take them because they weren’t meeting the needs of local children, that’s just unacceptable.”
Attendance ‘worth highlighting on its own’
Oliver also suggested that attendance would be an increased focus under the new inspections. It is currently looked-at as part of the behaviour and attitudes sub-judgment.
“I think there’s something there on looking at attendance on its own, in its own right, given the crucial, central position it holds in English education, schools, around the world at the moment. I think it’s worthy of highlighting on its own.”
Another major change announced today is the alignment of the timetables of all inspections. Under proposals to be piloted this autumn, schools will be notified of an inspection on a Monday, with inspectors visiting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It means leaders will know by Monday afternoon each week if they are to be inspected. Ofsted said this would help “to reduce the stress of waiting”.
Grace period to fix safeguarding concerns
The watchdog has also confirmed it will reform its approach to safeguarding.
The government is planning new annual reviews of safeguarding, attendance and off-rolling reviews, but routine inspections will still look at the issue, and it will be a criterion of new report cards.
Ofsted has said it will pause the publication of inspection reports when safeguarding concerns are identified in an otherwise high-performing school, giving leaders three months to address the issue before re-visiting.
But schools would have to send a letter from Ofsted to parents to inform them of the situation.
“We will do it in a way which is transparent to parents, and it’s better, because rather than waiting two or three months for the report to be produced and action then happening, I can ensure action takes place from the second we leave that building,” Oliver said.
But “if a school refuses to send a letter out, then I’m afraid the inspection will therefore be immediately completed. I will not leave children unsafe in a school”.
Just 29% of schools think Ofsted ‘trusted’
Research conducted by IFF for the Big Listen found schools were much less likely to say Ofsted “achieved its ambition of being trusted” compared to other providers.
Just 29 per cent of schools agreed with the statement compared to 47 per cent for teacher development providers, and up to 72 per cent for social care.
Researchers said schools were more critical of Ofsted’s inspection regime and its impact, suggesting the inspectorate’s processes are “better suited to social care settings and more emphasis on change is needed in educational settings”.
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