Change is afoot for Ofsted. We’ve yet to hear the results of its Big Listen consultation, but already the political situation has moved on. The question now is whether the proposed changes will deliver the accountability system we need.
Pressure is growing. Ofsted recently sent a message about amendments they made to the inspection of a school. Dame Christine Gilbert is undertaking a review of the role of Ofsted in the inspection of Caversham school. And Labour has stated it will “create a better system for inspecting and improving our schools”.
The new government’s plans specifically promise to end single-word judgments and bring in report cards with annual checks on safeguarding and attendance, to inspect multi-academy trusts as well as schools themselves, and to introduce a new focus on improving schools with new regional teams to drive better outcomes for children.
The nature of these teams is critical. The track record of drip, drip improvement led by DfE regions is not the model to follow. Regional teams should be led by an experienced educationalist, be given the authority to focus on the key schools and to martial local and national support to drive improvement at the school level.
The lack of skilled teachers sits at the bottom of poor performance. Solving this requires a new, bold approach. The lead educationalist should be enabled to recruit highly skilled teachers, based in schools, with long term contracts and additional benefits.
Ofsted has already taken on board the need to retire the one-word judgment from its inspection model. However, this is unlikely to be enough to deliver a system that focuses on informed professional dialogue and partnership, ensures all schools are on a pathway of continuous improvement, and supports those that are stalling on that journey in a timely fashion.
It’s clear that deeper action is needed to ensure confidence in the inspection framework. Doing so will require engaging with teachers and schools themselves, ensuring they play a key role in developing the new inspection regime.
Here are five key priorities for delivering an accountability system fit for today’s school system:
Separate safeguarding from inspection
Ofsted should be re-organised to focus on education from early years to post-18 transitions. This is a big enough job. Its current responsibility for safeguarding and child protection should be placed with either a new Safeguarding and Child Protection inspectorate or become a distinct section of the Care Quality Commission.
A clearer remit
The inspection framework should make clear that the purpose of inspection threefold: to ensure schools are focused on better outcomes for children, to support the promotion of excellent practice, and to secure instant action to support schools that are not good enough for our children.
Inspector development
To deliver this, a commitment should be given that over a two-year period school inspection teams will include at least one skilled serving, or recently retired, head or deputy head teacher – expert in the phase of education they are inspecting.
Accountability from top to bottom
The contribution a local authority or academy trust makes to their individual schools should be commented on in the report of a school’s inspection.
In addition, trusts and local authorities should be inspected to assess how effectively they are carrying out their education functions – especially for children and young people with special educational needs.
Finally, the department for education should also be subject to assessment by Ofsted for its role in improving schools.
Reporting for action
Finally, inspection reports should be in the form of a focused letter to parents and governors. They should identify strengths, relay the views of pupils and parents, and state clearly what the school needs to do to improve further.
Inevitably, some schools will not reach an acceptable standard. In these cases, swift action should be required of the trust or local authority to put in place the necessary action and support to move the school forward.
Failure to seize the political opportunity to renew Ofsted would be a disservice to school staff and to our children. The inspectorate can play a key role in transforming inclusion and promoting better outcomes for all, but to do that it needs nothing short of a complete renewal.
