When it comes to choosing a school for a child, parents will consider a whole raft of different factors - one of these may be the latest Ofsted report. Amid the growing trend for schools to strap Ofsted-branded banners with “good” or “outstanding” on the school gate, just how much sway do these ratings have?
I pose the question because at Parentkind we were recently asked to contribute to a National Audit Office value for money study looking at how Ofsted inspects schools. Given that the regulator frequently cites meeting the needs of parents as a key aspect of the current school inspection and reporting regime, we were eager to share a parent perspective. To inform our response, we carried out an online poll involving 295 parents and found that when it comes to shortlisting schools for their children, Ofsted reports are by no means the be all and end all.
While over half of respondents said they did look at Ofsted ratings when choosing a school for their child, only a quarter said the report was important to them. In fact, the overwhelming majority of parents (81 per cent) said it was not as important as the location or local reputation of the school itself and many respondents said they found hearing the opinions and experiences of other parents and students of greater value.
Ofsted should rate parental engagement
As well as bolstering learning outcomes for children, schools can, therefore, further benefit from investing long-term in parental engagement. As this finding suggests, making sure as many mums, dads, grandparents and carers as possible feel valued and listened to will in turn enhance a school’s reputation through word of mouth in the local community. It’s a veritable win-win and a caution for schools to not start and finish their marketing efforts with Ofsted ratings (on a banner).
We also have some feedback for Ofsted, too.There is no doubt that parents value Ofsted inspections. However, of those who had experience of Ofsted in their school, 56 per cent of respondents said it had been negative and that they did not think Ofsted acted on parent input as part of its evaluation, with a majority not believing the inspection led to an improvement in their child’s school. Ouch! This does suggest Ofsted may need to rethink how it can meet the needs of parents better.
Ofsted should include how well a school engages parents as part of its inspection; does it take a whole-school approach? Is parental participation included in school improvement planning? Do parents feel valued as partners in their child’s education? This would encourage all schools to shift towards and celebrate a more “parent-friendly” culture. It may also improve parent satisfaction with the regulator. Another win-win.
As set out in Parentkind’s guidance and training for school leaders, there are lots of low-cost ways to prioritise this at your school now: nominate a ‘parent champion’ from the leadership team, run your own annual parents’ survey, get the whole school community involved in raising standards, get feedback via consultation exercises and a parent council or forum. Some may see this as a welcome development away from, say, a reliance on the (arguably under-representative) Ofsted Parent View questionnaire - especially during the pressure-cooker of inspections.
Prospective parents want an independent school inspectorate but also want to get under the skin of the school to understand what it will be like for their child and for them. It would be so refreshing and helpful for mums and dads to see a school being rated highly because it actively involves parents in school life and in their child’s learning. Now that would be something worth shouting about.
Michelle Doyle Wildman is the acting CEO of Parentkind (formerly PTA UK)
