Two former Ofsted inspectors are calling for an urgent renewal of the inspectorate’s governance to ensure more “openness” and greater “accountability” within the organisation.
Professor Colin Richards and Frank Norris, who are both former senior inspectors, have warned that the issues raised about Ofsted’s governance in a major report by former chief inspector Dame Christine Gilbert are at risk of being ignored.
The role of Ofsted’s board in the watchdog’s decision making was a main point of criticism made by Dame Christine in her independent review of Ofsted last month. She had been tasked with investigating the inspectorate’s actions following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
She found the role of Ofsted’s governing board “curiously limited”, highlighting that His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) was not “wholly accountable” to the board and that it has no control over the watchdog’s budget.
The report further warned that the “degree of autonomy and entitlement for HMCI does not make for effective governance”, and found that each Ofsted chief can decide how they want to determine the scope of the board’s decision making.
Dame Christine’s report was published alongside Ofsted’s response to its Big Listen consultation, which included its plans to create a new inspection framework with report cards following the government’s announcement that overall single-word inspection grades were being scrapped.
Risk of ‘pressing issues’ being ignored
The two former inspectors have raised concerns that with so much focus being paid to Ofsted’s planned reforms, the issues raised about the watchdog’s governance have not received enough attention.
Professor Richards said: “There is a clear risk that some of the most pressing issues affecting standards are being underreported or even ignored.
“This is why strong governance and clear lines of accountability within Ofsted are crucial to ensure it holds a firm line on reporting openly without fear or favour on the wide range of issues facing schools, not just the narrower range in current school reports.”
He added that Ofsted needs to be able to rely on its board to be able to support and challenge its chief inspector in an independent manner.
Mr Norris said that there is an “underlying problem” with the appointment of Ofsted’s chair of the board and its members by the education secretary, as set out in Ofsted’s governance framework.
“There needs to be much greater openness around these appointments to strengthen confidence in their level of independence,” Mr Norris added.
Otherwise, there is a risk that the appointments can be seen as “being supportive of the government”, rather than being for the “extensive range of talent and skills that they bring”, he warned.
Reconsider appointment process of chief inspectors
Mr Norris also called for the way in which chief inspectors are appointed to be reconsidered.
Currently, the Commons Education Select Committee holds pre-appointment hearings for the government’s preferred candidate and although it can decide not to support an appointment, it cannot prevent it.
Mr Norris said the committee should be made “either solely responsible for the appointment of the chief inspector or, at the very least, able to veto one proposed by ministers”.
He added: “It is important too that the chief inspector’s contract is made public and provides for an appropriate level of independence for the post-holder.”
Ofsted carried out its Big Listen consultation with the sector earlier this year to seek views on the inspection system.
It came amid significant scrutiny following the death of headteacher Ms Perry and an inquest ruling that an inspection had contributed to her death.
In May, Mr Norris and Professor Richards launched the Alternative Big Listen in response to Ofsted’s own consultation. They were concerned that the Big Listen had not directly asked for people’s views about the use of single-word grades or whether the inspectorate was fit for purpose.
The latest concerns over Ofsted governance come after Tes revealed last month that minutes from Ofsted’s board meetings had not been published for meetings held after September 2023.
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