Ofsted seen as ‘not fit for purpose’ and schools should self-evaluate instead, inquiry says
Ofsted is seen as “not fit for purpose” and schools should “self-evaluate their progress” instead, an inquiry has said.
The Beyond Ofsted inquiry into the education inspectorate for England said it found Ofsted has a “detrimental impact” that is perceived by some as “toxic” – and called for “transformational change”.
The inquiry chairman, Lord Jim Knight, said Ofsted has “lost the trust of the teaching profession, and increasingly of parents”.
The inquiry was launched in April amid calls for the inspectorate to revamp its school ratings system – which uses one-word judgements – after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in January.
Ms Perry’s family said she took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns.
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Teacher’s death blamed on Ofsted
Instead of the rating system, the inquiry says schools could “self-evaluate their progress” and work long-term with an external “school improvement partner”.
The partner would validate and support the school to deliver an action plan and parents would be provided with useful information instead of a single-word judgement.
Lord Knight said: “This would produce an action plan for governance and the school community to understand what is working well and what can be done better.”
The inquiry recommends an “immediate pause to routine inspections” to allow time for trust to be regained by the teaching profession, but inspections would continue to feed back to the Department of Education on the impact of its policies.
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Ofsted inspections ‘high stakes’
Read more:
Ofsted grading process ‘nonsense’, former inspector claims
Sister of headteacher Ruth Perry says Ofsted chief ‘totally insensitive’
A Department for Education spokesperson told the BBC it wants “inspections to be a constructive experience for school staff”.
“Our inspectors are all former or current school leaders and well understand the nature and pressures of the work,” the spokesperson said.
“Ofsted has a crucial role in providing a regular, independent evaluation of every school, providing reassurance to parents that pupils are receiving the high-quality education they deserve and are being kept safe.”
The Institute for Public Policy Research said “overly simplistic” school inspection judgements, such as inadequate or needs improvement, often trigger abrupt changes to management.
The thinktank said this fuelled a “football manager culture” in schools of firing headteachers.
Politics
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
Read more on this story:
‘Fix care before assisted dying legislation’
Why assisted dying is controversial – and where it’s already legal
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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