Ofsted

Trusts want governance split from Ofsted leadership judgments

Trusts fear system has masked 'weak governance' and call for Labour to u-turn on safeguarding inspections

Trusts fear system has masked 'weak governance' and call for Labour to u-turn on safeguarding inspections

19 Sep 2024, 18:00

More from this author

A three-tier regulatory response should be trialled in response to Ofsted outcomes, the IPPR has recommended

An influential group of trusts is urging Ofsted to split governance from its leadership judgment, saying the current system is masking sector-wide weaknesses.

The Queen Street Group’s annual report, published today, said “many” CEOs in its network of 35 trusts believe “governance across the system is not consistently strong enough to bear the demands placed upon it”.

Inspectors’ decisions on a school’s governance are rolled into their ‘leadership and management’ sub-judgement. But QSG members believe the two should be split. 

“Weak governance is often carried by leaders,” the report said. “This problem is masked by incorporating governance within the judgement on leadership, so these need to be separated.” 

This comes after Ofsted scrapped single-phrase headline grades for a school’s overall effectiveness earlier this month. 

Until new report cards take effect next September, schools will continue to be rated from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’ for the four sub-judgments, including ‘leadership and management’. 

Recruitment might not keep up with improvement

Steve Taylor

OSG chair Steve Taylor said CEOs “were reflecting that when a school goes through a period of rapid improvement, for example, that it’s not necessarily [the case] that you’ll recruit governors at the same speed as you’ll be able to improve provision”.  

Two-thirds of school or trust governing boards had at least one vacancy in 2022, a six-year high.

The Labour government also pledged in the build-up to the election to introduce trust inspections. Ofsted currently conducts summary evaluations of trusts, batch-inspecting some of their schools but does not look at the workings of central teams.

But the QSG report warned “much work remains to be done on developing appropriate” MAT inspections. 

Its members had reported a “mixed response” to summary evaluations, with some inspectors having a “lack of understanding of how trusts operate”. Finance directors also witnessed a “wide inconsistency of approach by different inspection teams”. 

Safeguarding checks would ‘burden schools’

QSG also revealed that most of its members “do not advocate separate annual safeguarding” checks, another planned Labour reform. 

“These would increase burdens on schools. The trust sets the safeguarding policy and monitors its effectiveness. This is where inspection should focus.”

Elsewhere in the report, QSG noted the Department for Education’s academy commissioners, called regional directors, “are making judgements on whether trusts need to improve and whether they have the capacity to take on new schools”.

But there “needed to be greater consistency of approach” and “greater transparency in how such processes work”. 

Asbestos may be next big issue

Although QSG members say they have seen improvements in areas of concern involving regions group and Ofsted, following talks with lead inspector Sir Martyn Oliver and senior DfE official John Edwards. 

During meetings of QSG’s estates group, leaders also predicted that “asbestos may be the next issue to hit the headlines”. But they are concerned last year’s RAAC crisis will “exacerbate the shortfall in condition funding”. 

They also believe current building bulletins, which detail how a school should be designed and laid out, are “now out-of-date as we are using schools and spaces differently following the pandemic”. 

Creative Education Trust estates director Jon Ward, who chairs the QSG group, explained: “Some schools face new challenges in meeting space requirements for bigger intakes, or requiring more smaller spaces say for intervention particularly where greater numbers of children with SEND are evident.”

Latest education roles from

Chief Education Officer (Deputy CEO)

Chief Education Officer (Deputy CEO)

Romero Catholic Academy Trust

Director of Academy Finance and Operations

Director of Academy Finance and Operations

Ormiston Academies Trust

Principal & Chief Executive

Principal & Chief Executive

Truro & Penwith College

Group Director of Marketing, Communications & External Engagement

Group Director of Marketing, Communications & External Engagement

London & South East Education Group

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

AI Safety: From DfE Guidance to Classroom Confidence

Darren Coxon, edtech consultant and AI education specialist, working with The National College, explores the DfE’s expectations for AI...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

How accurate spend information is helping schools identify savings

One the biggest issues schools face when it comes to saving money on everyday purchases is a lack of...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Building Character, Increasing Engagement and Growing Leaders: A Whole School Approach

Research increasingly shows that character education is just as important as academic achievement in shaping pupils’ long-term success. Studies...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Educators launch national AI framework to guide schools and colleges

More than 250 schools and colleges across the UK have already enrolled in AiEd Certified, a new certification framework...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Ofsted

ASCL joins Ofsted preparation ‘cottage industry’ it once criticised

Watchdog urges schools not to 'spend limited resources' on preparing for inspection after union launches paid-for webinars

John Dickens
Ofsted

‘No real subject inspection left’: Spielman slams Ofsted reforms

Report cards will 'take out everything that amounts to a serious review of what's taught and how it's taught',...

Freddie Whittaker
Ofsted

Union tells school leaders to demand Ofsted risk assessment

NAHT says move is about ‘preventing avoidable harm – including the most serious outcomes – arising from a flawed...

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Ofsted

Schools more positive about Ofsted inspections as headline grades ditched

But analysis shows those taking part in survey are more likely to have had positive Ofsted outcomes

Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *