Commenting on Ofsted’s response to the Education Select Committee
report calling for major changes to the inspectorate’s work,
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National
Education Union, said:
"There will be real disappointment and consternation that Ofsted
hasn’t addressed single-word judgements, despite the cross-party
Select Committee having asked Ofsted to develop an alternative to
these blunt verdicts. The single word judgements have a deeply
detrimental impact, including too much pressure on individual
leaders. They cause experienced and much needed staff to
leave schools in deprived areas. It’s not going to be possible to
keep, and attract, enough talented school leaders without change
to this narrow aspect of the system. They actively undermine
equity in our school system.
"It is time to act on the recommendation from the Education
Select Committee for the Department for Education to look again
at their policy of threatening schools in receipt of two
consecutive 'requires improvement’ judgements with forced
academisation.
"There should have been more response to the Select Committee
recommendation that Ofsted must review the implementation of its
current framework and its impact on workload. Workload in primary
schools has risen directly from the current framework, at a time
when pay for additional responsibilities in primary schools are
less and less readily available. The culture created by the
Ofsted framework is a key driver of the levels of unsustainable
workload shown in the recent DfE survey on the working lives of
teachers and leaders.
"Less than half of teachers in a recent NEU survey agreed that the
inspectors conducting their most recent Ofsted inspection were
‘reasonable, professional, and considerate.’ Only 3% of teachers
thought that two weeks of mental health training were sufficient
to ensure teacher and school leader safeguarding, and the
majority thought it would make no meaningful difference.
"The case for root and branch reform has near universal
agreement. Ofsted must be replaced with a new system of
inspection that is supportive, effective and fair, such as the
proposals by the recent independent Beyond Ofsted inquiry,
sponsored by the NEU and chaired by Sir . Bringing expertise rather than judgement would help
protect the wellbeing of teaching staff, which would in turn help
ensure children and young people from all backgrounds thrive in
school."
Editor’s Note:
NEU Ofsted survey, 18 January 2024: https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/ofsted-safeguarding-risk
