Tes News podcast: Ofsted’s final year under Spielman

In the latest Tes News podcast, the team discuss a week that has been dominated by news of the inspectorate Ofsted, after the chancellor’s Autumn Statement fell flat with the sector.

Wednesday found schools holding their breath for Jeremy Hunt’s long-awaited Autumn Statement. But the lack of new money left leaders feeling “bitterly disappointed”, and the focus soon switched to Ofsted’s highly anticipated annual report (the final one to be published under the current chief inspector, Amanda Spielman).

In the report, Ms Spielman warned that the social contract between schools and families had been fractured, resulting in poor behaviour and attendance problems. On the same day, government figures revealed that the rate of pupils being excluded from school had soared back to pre-pandemic levels.

And the team discuss an exclusive Tes analysis revealing that less than two in five improving schools told they had a chance of an “outstanding” grade at their next inspection were actually given Ofsted’s top rating.

Join Tes senior reporter Matilda Martin, junior reporter Cerys Turner and deputy news editor John Roberts as they discuss the mounting questions facing the sector and the inspectorate about the value of Ofsted, and Ms Spielman’s defence of the current system.

More on Ofsted:

• Spielman: Covid has left “troublesome legacy” for schools
• Heads “sick, stressed and terrified” at the thought of Ofsted
• Less than two in five “good and improving” schools get top Ofsted rating
• Spielman: Why we shouldn’t scrap Ofsted grades
• Ofsted’s annual report: everything you need to know
• Ofsted pushes ahead with complaints shake-up
• Reform Ofsted to inspect MATs not schools, inquiry says
• Scrap Ofsted grades to end “football-manager culture”, says report

What else schools need to know this week:

• Pupil exclusions soar to pre-pandemic levels
• Barran urges “caution” over school closures amid falling rolls
• Gender pay gap hits 12-year high for secondary heads
• Times table check: scores rise in second year
• Autumn Statement 2023: School leaders “bitterly disappointed”
• SEND: Schools must take “fair share” of pupils, says DfE
• Johnson: Williamson’s Covid plans for schools “probably feeble”
• Free schools policy has “lost its way”, DfE told
• MAT sector at “tipping point”, leaders warn