Reports on the work of Ofsted

Two reports about Ofsted inspections have been published.

The first is the report from Amanda Spielman, her last as Ofsted Chief Inspector. The report is long, but her overriding view is that:

“… in all the sectors where we work, post-inspection surveys over time show a strongly positive picture overall. With results once again available to us, the relationship between school inspection outcomes and published results is as strong as it was under the previous framework. At the same time, we are routinely told that inspection now feels collaborative and supportive.

Yet for schools (although not for our other remits), we are also seeing a wave of publicly expressed discontent about issues that Ofsted alone cannot resolve.”

Key indicators from the report are:

• Post Covid recovery is continuing and happening faster than they might have expected
• The curriculum has improved in nearly all the subjects on which they have reported
• The teaching of reading in primary schools is significantly better
• Well-structured teacher training is yielding results.

Difficulties remain and they note:

• The social contract that has long bound parents and schools together has been damaged
• Across society, there is less respect for the principle of a full-time education
• There needs to be greater central guidance, for more consistent treatment of children and young people in different contexts; to support schools and others under pressure; and to make sure that what is and isn’t accepted in schools isn’t simply driven by the loudest voices at the expense of quieter ones
• In schools, staff shortages are reducing expert teaching, increasing stress, limiting intervention when children struggle and creating a barrier to teachers accessing training and development.

The second report ‘Beyond Ofsted’  was commissioned by the National Education Union (NEU) and chaired by labour peer Lord Jim Knight.  The report states “We ask too much of Ofsted; it is under-resourced for the high-stakes job it is expected to do. As a result, the quality of inspection has diminished and become inconsistent.”

The report refers to the conclusions of the National Governance Association (NGA) governance survey results around inspection.  The report also says “Finally, a word on school governance. We ask a lot of school governors. It is a vital job that they do in supporting and challenging the professionals managing the school. This huge group of unpaid volunteers need more support and I regret the abandonment of the National Leaders of Governance scheme.”