Since a coroner’s ruling that an Ofsted inspection was a contributing factor in the tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry by suicide, attention on England’s school inspection system has intensified. Ofsted needs to change – and quickly.
Inspectors are now required to undertake training sessions in headteacher wellbeing. But trust from school leaders in Ofsted is at an all-time low.
Far broader reform needs to happen. And the arrival of a new chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, in January 2024, presents an opportunity for a fresh start.
I am in the process of carrying out research with former and current Ofsted inspectors, most of whom are headteachers. I was also a headteacher and an Ofsted inspector. Based on my experience and research, as well as the Department for Education’s own research, here are recommendations for the changes that should take place at Ofsted – both quickly and over the longer term.
Immediate changes
In the short-term, Ofsted could implement a risk-assessed approach to inspecting schools, rather than mechanically trawling through all schools by 2025 as is the current plan. This is easy to achieve and makes for better use of scarce inspector resources.
Another useful change would be to remove one-word judgements. The idea that a school can be summarised in one word is absurd. The lowest grade, “inadequate”, is used as a blunt instrument to force local authority schools into becoming an academy. Failure in an Ofsted inspection can lead to headteachers leaving their jobs.
Ofsted could also remove the rule whereby if there is a problem with safeguarding, no matter how small or technical, a school is automatically judged “inadequate”. This is disproportionate, highly contestable and seen as a trap door.
In the medium-term, Ofsted needs to re-establish independence from the Department for Education. For instance, former chief inspector Amanda Spielman’s endorsement of the government’s plan to extend maths teaching to the age of 18 could be seen to compromise Ofsted and tie it to government policy.
Ofsted could also consult on and introduce a new inspection framework for schools to avoid the current “one size fits all” approach. Inspections should focus on how individual schools meet the needs of their pupils and raise standards, rather than prescribing how the curriculum is taught and driving them towards a national government template.
Changing the approach
In the longer term, Ofsted needs to become part of a school improvement system rather than an enforcer of government policy.
Ministers have known since 2019 that the high-stakes inspection model in England is an outlier. This high-stakes approach is rare in other countries with high-performing schools, such as in Scandinavia, elsewhere in Europe and in the Asia.
Inspections should be just one element in a system for school improvement which can also include a more balanced approach to both challenging and supporting schools. This would recognise the complexities of change and the need for resources to improve performance in deprived areas.
The data is so clear on this. Schools with large numbers of pupils on free school meals are less likely to get the top “outstanding” grade than those with pupils from wealthier families.
There are schools which buck the trend here, of course, and they deserve congratulations. We can always learn from them and how they sail against the wind. But nuance in understanding the differences between schools and in how they need to be supported is required.
Political change is in the air with a general election due. There are plenty of suggestions for how an incoming government could move forward in collaboration with the education sector – such as the Beyond Ofsted project, an inquiry into the future of school inspection sponsored by the National Education Union.
The longer the current inspection regime endures, the more alienated the education profession will become. My current research with former inspectors reveals deep levels of dissatisfaction with the current inspection framework.
With political will and by drawing on its own research, a new government could rapidly transform school inspections to start adding value and celebrating success.