Ofsted reform – more than 9 in 10 heads oppose plan

Ofsted’s proposed changes to school inspections have received an ‘overwhelmingly’ negative response in a snap union poll of headteachers.

Last week Ofsted launched a consultation on their plans to overhaul the school inspection regime. Replacing the previous system, where settings were graded on a four step scale from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’, Ofsted instead propose schools, nurseries and colleges be graded in eight individual areas on a five step scale, ranging from ‘exemplary’ to ‘causing concern’. There would also be a separate evaluation of whether safeguarding standards were being ‘met’ or ‘not met’. Schools will also be rated on their sixth form and early years provision, if applicable.

But the proposed changes have landed badly with headteachers, as the NAHT school leaders union revealed that, in a snap poll they conducted, 92 per cent of school leaders disagreed with the proposals. The poll was launched the day after Ofsted announced its plans, and received more than 3000 responses - including over 1900 individual free text comments citing concerns - in under 48 hours. One leader said: ‘They have done incredibly well to make a stressful and blunt approach to school inspection even more stressful and blunt. It will increase inconsistency, drive up workload and create exponentially more stress on headteachers and leaders.’ Another respondent commented: ‘I cannot see how this new inspection model will have any positive impact on schools and especially the pressure faced by leaders. Feels like lengthening the stick to beat us with.’

The survey also found that 96 per cent of respondents do not think that Ofsted will make meaningful changes in response to the views shared by the profession during the consultation. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT said: ‘School leaders are ambitious about standards, but these proposals will increase the workload of teachers, driving them away from the classroom. When these proposals were leaked at the end of last year, we warned that they would not work. Rather than rethinking the plans, Ofsted is pressing ahead with a model that has attracted almost universal criticism. Ofsted needs to go back to the drawing board, urgently reconsider these ill-thought-through plans, and listen to the profession.’

Ofsted’s proposals had already received a rough ride from other unions and sector organisations, with many honing in on their apparent complexity. The various components that would make up an assessment means there are theoretically 390,625 possible inspection outcomes – more if the school has an early years or sixth form provision. By contrast, the previous inspection regime had a total of 256 possible outcomes. There are fears that this additional complexity will lead to greater inconsistency. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said the new proposals would ‘make matters worse, not better’. He added: ‘We are concerned that inspectors categorising ten areas into five boxes in two days will exacerbate existing issues of inconsistency and unreliability. It is also plain to see that Ofsted’s plan does not address the mental health impact of the current ‘high stakes’ accountability systems on the profession.’

Concerns about the impact on the mental health of school staff were echoed by Professor Julia Waters, sister of the late Caversham Primary School headteacher Ruth Perry: ‘Ofsted’s proposed new inspection model has some improvements but retains many of the dangerous features of the previous system, while introducing a series of changes with potential new risks to the wellbeing of teachers and headteachers’. She added: ‘I hope this is a genuine consultation, in which Ofsted takes onboard all comments and makes some significant changes to its proposals as a result. I would therefore urge anyone with an interest in school accountability and the wellbeing of pupils and teachers to respond to the consultation.’

The consultation, which runs until 28 April, can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/25nw254s

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