Comprehensive reforms aim to recognize education’s growing challenges and assist the less privileged students.
English schools will be rated on how effectively they deal with post-COVID absenteeism, behaviour, and special needs as part of the comprehensive reforms to Ofsted, which aim to support vulnerable children better and relieve the pressure on teachers.
After the government announcement that the Ofsed’s single-word overall rating would be scrapped with immediate effect, Sir Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector of schools in England, stood because the model should revised based on a report card which would continue to be held by schools accountable and effectively inform parents.
Concerning what could be included in the new report card, he stated, “I think behaviour and attendance stand out separately.” He said, “We know that attendance is a national issue, and so I think attendance should be pulled out and focused on separately.”
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Oliver also declared more intentions to implement robust complaint procedures and a new “Ofsed academy” to deliver “professional, empathy, courtesy, and respect” across the organization, which came after complaints from school leaders about the conduct of some inspections.
The inspectorate’s commitment to scrutinizing how healthy schools meet the needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable students with a specific emphasis on inclusion will be the centre of the new framework. Early next year, with the start date of September 2025, a consultation will be held on the revisions.
Oliver stated, “This is the beginning of a new chapter for Ofsted as we reset our priorities, refine our practices and rebuild our relationships.”
He acknowledged the passing of Ruth Perry, the primary school headteacher, who committed suicide because her school was downgraded from the highest performing ranking, outstanding, to lowest and inadequate, which was the catalyst for the changes.
Oliver stated, “But the case for change has been building for years.” “We recognize the growing challenges facing education and social care, particularly since the pandemic. We don’t want to add to this pressure.”
Ofsted will pilot a new method, declaring all regular inspections on Monday and scheduling them for the next two days. The school leader can be notified of an inspection on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
In addition, Ofsted announced that from this month, it will not release inspection reports if safeguarding concerns are found in an otherwise high-performing school, as in the case of Perry’s Caversham Primary School in Reading, until three months after the initial visit by inspectors.
Parents will still be informed about safeguarding concerns. However, delayed publications will give the schools some time to correct issues without the intervention of the Department of Education.
Dame Christine Gilbert’s views on Ofsted reforms
Dame Christine Gilbert, the former chief inspector, also released an independent learning review for the Ofsted on Tuesday. In the document, she urged the inspectorate to ensure the revised safeguarding approach “does not shift the balance to the point where it causes inspectors to avoid making the right decisions to keep children safe”.
Ofsted accepted ten out of 14 recommendations by Gilbert, including a call to review Ofsted governance framework to strengthen the board’s future ability to play a critical role “in ensuring a culture that prevents a tragedy like this from ever happening again”.
Perry’s sister, Julia Waters, stated that Gilbert’s learning review highlighted how apathetic and defensive Ofsted had been in their handling of the passing of her sister. “She reveals a culture that has allowed inspectors to come across as remote and infallible, with an unfair power balance between inspectors and those they inspect. I am glad that Ofsted has accepted the majority of Dame Christine’s recommendations.”
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, stated that Gilbert’s findings demonstrated the need for major institutional and cultural changes within the Ofsted. “Issues linked to inconsistency across regional teams, inadequate governance, the use of unofficial guidance and weak performance management systems for inspectors are alarming to read, and raise serious questions about the consistency and accuracy of inspections.”
The Association of Schools and College Leaders general secretary, Pepe Di’Iasio, also contributed to Gilbert’s findings. He stated, “Ofsted certainly needs reform, and their response sets out a blueprint for what changes we can expect, but we absolutely must avoid replacing one flawed system with another one.”
The government’s declaration of scrapping the single-world judgement still attracts widespread support and criticism. Katharine Birbalsingh, a headteacher and a former social mobility tsar for the Conservative government, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that scrapping the ratings “because of leaders’ feeling bad’ is a nod in the wrong direction”. She said, “This ‘report card’ will NOT give more clarity to parents. That’s bluster from the politicians.”
Oliver stated, “I absolutely truly believe that we can hold schools to account, and even greater account, by having a far more nuanced report that actually points to individual areas of strength and areas for improvement rather than just summarising it all down to one word at the end.”
The planned reforms come after Ofsted’s “Big Listen”, which attracted 20,000 responses online, including 4,000 from children.
