Almost nine out of 10 school and college leaders think Ofsted’s new inspection framework fails to judge performance fairly or accurately, according to a new survey.
A similar proportion of heads said that graded inspection judgements should be scrapped or reformed, the Association of School and College Leaders’ survey found.
The school leaders’ union has carried out a survey of its members about the new Ofsted framework and inspection in general.
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Three-quarters of those polled said the new curriculum-focused approach to inspections was an improvement on previous frameworks.
However, despite this, 89 per cent of the 793 leaders polled felt the new system still failed to “consistently, fairly and accurately judge the performance of schools and colleges”.
Of those leaders polled who have actually undergone an inspection under the new framework, 79 per cent thought it failed to produce consistent, fair and accurate judgements.
The new inspection framework was introduced in September and focuses more on the quality of the curriculum and less on data from exams and tests.
Despite the majority of ASCL respondents supporting this move, the union said there was “significant disquiet over the perception that Ofsted is favouring a specific curriculum model of a two-year Key Stage 4 during which pupils study for GCSEs, and that schools successfully running a three-year programme will be downgraded.”
Ofsted has denied that it has a preferred length of key stage 3 and 4.
However, Geoff Barton, ASCL’s general secretary, will use his speech to the union’s annual conference today to call on Ofsted to “provide greater clarity, reassurance and consistency.”
He will say: “The great shame is that this one topic risks overshadowing the generally positive reception of the new framework.
“So our message to Ofsted is this. You have to grasp this issue and provide schools with greater clarity, reassurance and consistency. We have to know exactly where we stand.”
Mr Barton said the survey reveals members have misgivings about inspection in general - aside from the new inspection framework.
He will add: “Graded judgements are crude and stigmatising. Labelling a school as ‘inadequate’ is not smart. It is counter-productive.
“Ofsted inspections remain inconsistent. Many leaders feel it is the luck of the draw. The verdict feels as if it depends more on the inspection team than the framework.
“Nowhere near enough recognition is given to the context of schools and colleges which are doing great work in relentlessly challenging circumstances.
“And, finally, the tone of inspections too often feels combative rather than supportive. As one of our survey respondents puts it: ‘What we need is less “Big Brother is watching you”; more “Big Brother wants to help you.”’
“So, these findings give us a clear objective over the coming year. Because if we could improve these areas of inspection, it would be a great deal better for our schools, our colleges, our children and, we would argue, for Ofsted too.”
An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We’re pleased that three-quarters of school and college leaders who were surveyed believe our new approach to inspection is an improvement.”
