“It is not right that a postcode should set the ceiling for a child’s ambitions.” With those words, Ofsted’s chief inspector Martyn Oliver summed up an ambition that few in education would disagree with. As schools prepare for contextual benchmarking to become part of the inspection process in the coming academic year, the principle is easy to support – compare like with like. But if schools facing similar challenges are all achieving similar outcomes, how do we stop these benchmarks creating the very glass ceiling that Oliver has warned against? If Ofsted reforms are to make judgments about schools fairer, inspectors need to have a better understanding of how the circumstances those schools are working in may be affecting outcomes. No argument there. Telling the whole story A set of SATs or GCSE results will show inspectors what pupils achieved in assessments. Attendance figures will tell them whether pupils are regularly coming to school. Information such as how many children are eligible for free school meals or have additional needs will provide context when evaluating a school’s performance. But none of these measures tells the whole story on their own. Contextual benchmarking has the potential to provide this kind of insight. It should give inspectors a better understanding of how similar schools are performing and help them make more informed judgments as a result. The challenge is that even neighbouring schools or those with common issues will not achieve the same levels of attendance, progress or attainment. If contextual benchmarking simply establishes a “new normal” for a particular group of similar schools, is there a danger that those comparisons become the benchmark against which success is judged? Prompting inspectors to ask ‘why’ As the reforms are introduced, safeguards will be needed so that contextual benchmarking informs inspection without inadvertently influencing perceptions of the progress children should be making or what schools can help them achieve. I believe one of the real benefits of contextual benchmarking will come when comparisons made between schools in similar circumstances reveal significantly different outcomes. If one school in a deprived area is struggling to improve levels of persistent absence and another school with challenges in common has slashed it by half, this should prompt inspectors to ask why. What has the second school in this example done to encourage more children to attend regularly? Are its pupils making better progress? Is there something about the way the leadership team works or how children are taught that is making such a measurable difference? A similar starting point doesn’t guarantee the same conclusion, so digging deeper could uncover some valuable best practice that other schools could benefit from. Those conversations could reveal the strategies that explain why one comparable school is achieving better outcomes for pupils than another. This is far more valuable than simply noting that the difference exists. Don’t erode ambition If schools are judged primarily against others in similar communities, without understanding the bigger picture, an acceptance might creep into the inspection process that slowly and silently starts to erode the ambition schools have for their pupils. If the new inspection regime does its job, contextual benchmarking should help inspectors arrive with a clearer understanding of a school’s circumstances and the challenges it might face. The inspection itself should then determine how effectively the school is overcoming those challenges to give every child the best possible opportunity to fulfil their potential. A really useful next step would be to capture and share the examples of effective practice uncovered through inspection. If inspectors can identify what is working in schools facing the greatest challenges, those lessons should not remain within a single inspection report. They can be used to inform improvement across all schools and trusts. It is right that a child’s educational outcomes should never be defined by their circumstances, background, where they live or where they go to school. If contextual benchmarking is to fulfil its promise, it must help inspectors better understand context without lowering ambitions for children or expectations of what schools can help them achieve. Children from similar backgrounds can and do achieve very different outcomes, and inspection should continue to recognise schools that help pupils exceed expectations.