Ofsted should ensure its lead inspectors have “expertise” in the type of school they are inspecting, MPs have said in a major report urging the watchdog to “rebuild trust”.
The cross-bench Commons Education Committee has also urged Ofsted and the Department for Education to prioritise coming up with an alternative system to replace single-word judgements.
The report comes weeks after Ofsted published its response to the coroner of headteacher Ruth Perry’s inquest and follows the MPs’ inquiry into school inspection.
In December, senior coroner Heidi Connor concluded that an Ofsted inspection “likely contributed” to the death of headteacher Ms Perry, who took her own life after her school was downgraded to “inadequate” owing to safeguarding concerns.
Among a number of reforms, the school inspectorate announced that an independent learning review into its actions following Ms Perry’s death will be carried out.
MPs said today that they will seek “regular updates” from Ofsted on how it is responding to the seven areas of concern set out in the coroner’s report, and will expect Ofsted chief Sir Martyn Oliver to report to the committee on a six-monthly basis.
Here are the committee’s nine key findings:
1. Changing single-word judgements is a ‘priority’
The committee urged the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofsted to prioritise developing an alternative to single-word judgements.
“As a first step, the committee recommends that Ofsted and DfE’s websites should always show the full list of judgements, not just the overall judgement,” the report said.
Labour has committed to consulting on getting rid of single-word judgements and there have been calls from various other sector organisations for grades to be scrapped or reviewed.
Removing single-word judgements was a key area of reform discussed during the Ofsted inquiry, with former HMCI Sir Michael Wilshaw telling the committee that he no longer believed in the current grading system.
2. Inspector expertise
The report recommended that Ofsted should ensure, as a minimum, that a lead inspector has expertise in the type of school they are inspecting.
And it said the majority of inspectors visiting a school should have relevant experience of that school type.
After hearing concerns about the high turnover of experienced inspectors, MPs also said Ofsted should commission an independent assessment of the factors affecting inspector retention and take appropriate steps to address the issue.
3. Greater consideration for disadvantaged students
The report said Ofsted must ensure that inspectors take specific factors into account during inspections, including a “school’s size”, “the number of its pupils with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities)” and “recruitment and retention challenges”.
Progress details for pupils in receipt of pupil premium should also be a key measure for consideration, the report added.
It comes after Tes revealed that Ofsted will consider the possibility of assessing how inclusive a school is as part of inspections.
Labour’s shadow schools minister, Catherine McKinnell, has also said that Labour will look at promoting inclusivity in mainstream schools as part of Ofsted’s school inspection framework.
4. Strengthen support mechanisms for school leaders
The committee has called on the DfE and Ofsted to review the support mechanisms available to school leaders during and following an inspection, “and ensure that these are as strong as possible”.
MPs also recommended that “Ofsted must publish a clear policy and train inspectors on their approach to dealing with distress among school leaders during an inspection, and in what cases inspections can and should be paused or deferred”.
Ofsted has published a policy on how inspectors can pause inspections where “a serious issue has been identified that requires substantial action to be taken” and has already committed to training all inspectors in mental health awareness by the end of March - or they will not be able to inspect.
5. Explore a new safeguarding policy
MPs called on Ofsted to review its safeguarding policy, which the watchdog previously announced it would carry out as part of its Big Listen consultation.
The report also called on the DfE, in cases where safeguarding problems can be easily resolved, not to issue an academy order until after the school has been re-inspected.
Specifically, the committee said that the DfE should consult on a new approach, where “routine elements of safeguarding are removed from general inspections and could instead become the subject of more frequent safeguarding audits, either by an independent body or local authorities”.
6. Review framework for specific school types
Ofsted should review the implementation of the Education Inspection Framework (EIF) for looking at primary schools, special schools and small schools.
The EIF was introduced by Sir Martyn’s predecessor, Amanda Spielman, in 2019. It has previously been criticised over concerns that it has become harder for primary schools and smaller schools to achieve higher grades.
7. Urgent need for MAT inspection
The committee said that the DfE must authorise Ofsted to develop a framework for the inspection of multi-academy trusts (MATs).
This should be treated “as a matter of urgency”, MPs said, adding that the DfE should set out a plan for “building the appropriate expertise and capacity in this area”.
This week, the Confederation of School and College Trusts said that Ofsted could be tasked with assessing the school improvement capacity of MATs, and called on the government to set out a long-term plan to develop and test such an approach as an “immediate focus”.
8. In-depth review of complaints process
The report further recommended that Ofsted should conduct an in-depth review of its complaints process and explore setting up an independent body with powers to investigate judgements.
The watchdog has already begun to implement all four changes set out in its complaints consultation, including allowing schools to contact Ofsted to log any unresolved issues on the next working day after the end of the inspection.
The committee added that in its annual report and accounts, Ofsted should publish more data on complaints and set out improvements made as a result of learning from complaints.
9. More ‘in-depth’ and ‘longer’ inspections
Inspections should be more in-depth and take longer, the committee has recommended.
“Inspections could happen less frequently as an interim measure, taking place every five to six years for ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools, and three to four years for schools judged as ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’,” the report said.
Experts have previously voiced concerns about the coverage and length of the inspection process and findings.
Committee chair Robin Walker MP said: “We repeatedly heard that Ofsted has lost the trust of a significant chunk of the teaching profession and leaders. Current and former inspectors suggested the organisation has become overly defensive in recent years.”
While Mr Walker welcomed the changes to inspection practice announced by Ofsted last year, he said that “more action is required”, adding that “Ofsted must ensure it continues to listen and reform through 2024”.
An Ofsted spokeswoman said: “We welcome the select committee’s report and its findings. We look forward to responding in full to the recommendations.
“We have started making changes to the way we work, but we know more must be done to address the pressures faced by school leaders and staff. It is important that all changes we make are done in the best interest of children and their parents and carers, that is why we will launch a Big Listen in the coming weeks.
“We intend to hear from staff working in education and social care, as well as the parents, carers, children, young people and learners we serve.”
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