Ofsted will consider if it could assess how inclusive a school is as part of inspections, school leaders have been told.
Lee Owston, the watchdog’s national director of education, told the Schools North East Academies Conference that “some schools were more inclusive than others” and questioned whether this was right.
He added that schools performance in this area was something Ofsted’s bosses would be looking at as it considers future inspection changes.
Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow schools minister, Catherine McKinnell, told the same conference that if elected, the party would ensure that Ofsted’s school inspection framework promoted inclusivity in mainstream schools.
There have been concerns that the accountability system does not currently incentivise schools to be inclusive. Headteachers have also described how their schools have become “magnet schools” for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by earning a reputation for meeting pupils’ additional needs.
During a question and answer session, Tes asked Mr Owston if Ofsted would use its upcoming Big Listen consultation exercise to look at whether inspections could better gauge how inclusive a school is.
Mr Owston replied: “Yes, absolutely. Whether we call it inclusion or something else, but listening to experts - those with a view - whether that’s part of our reference group system, or whether through events like this or [as part of] the Big Listen, I think it is a piece of work for us to do.”
He added that the inspectorate “acknowledges” inclusion as a “particular challenge” and is to look at where it can “build from here”.
During an earlier presentation to school leaders, Mr Owston highlighted the importance of inclusion and belonging as he addressed some of the challenges facing the sector.
He said: “Perhaps in trying to pull together some of the themes around attendance, behaviour, mental health, parental perceptions [about the importance of education], there is something about inclusion and belonging.”
He suggested parents could be asking themselves: “Is this the right space for my child?”
He added: “If you think about inclusion and belonging, and all children should belong and feel like they belong, then this might help us to address some of these issues.”
‘Some schools are more inclusive than others’
He added: “Some schools are more inclusive than others - let’s just be honest - and is that right? And what is preventing all schools from being as inclusive as possible? Obviously, I can play my part in terms of inspection if that is a driver for those behaviours.
“Just this week I had a conversation with a headteacher about why the number of EHCPs (education, health and care plans) was so high in his school.”
Mr Owston said he was told that the school was “known in the community as an inclusive school that will meet their child’s needs no matter what, and perhaps there are other schools that aren’t offering that”.
He told the conference that he was raising the issue of inclusion to illustrate that people “at the highest level” of Ofsted are “thinking through what the landscape actually looks like as we are experiencing it now and what that means in terms of school inspection in the future”.
Mr Owston also said in his speech that exclusion and suspension remain a “legitimate course of action for any headteacher and a decision that none of you will ever enter into lightly”.
During a question and answer session at the Schools North East Conference, Ms McKinnell was asked what Labour would do to improve the SEND system.
She said: “We need to ensure that mainstream schools are inclusive and that inclusivity is part of our Ofsted inspection framework. We see a role for continued professional development as well, and that entitlement and the support we will put in place will support teachers to boost their ability to teach children with special educational needs.”
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