Government rejects scrapping Ofsted grades

The Government remains committed to single-phrase Ofsted judgments despite calls for them to be scrapped following the death of Reading headteacher Ruth Perry.

The Department for Education (DfE) has said it will “continue to listen to views and look at alternative systems”, but it believes there are “significant benefits” to headline grades awarded by the schools watchdog.

In its response to an inquiry into Ofsted by the Commons Education Select Committee, the DfE said the overall judgment provides a “succinct” summary for parents and helps identify which schools need support.

It said its priority is to look for ways to improve the inspection system rather than “developing an alternative to it”.

The Government’s response has been described by education union leaders as “deeply disappointing” and a missed opportunity for “meaningful change”.

The inspectorate has come under greater scrutiny in the past year after the suicide of Mrs Perry.

The headteacher took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest rating, “outstanding”, to its lowest rating, “inadequate”, over safeguarding concerns.

In December, a coroner concluded the Ofsted inspection on November 15-16 in 2022 “contributed” to Mrs Perry’s death.

A report by the Education Select Committee in January called on the DfE and Ofsted to develop an alternative to the single-word judgments “as a priority” to better capture the “complex nature of a school’s performance”.

It said as a “first step” the websites of Ofsted and the DfE should show a school’s rating in different areas, not just the overall judgment.

The DfE listed the benefits of one-word judgments in its response to MPs.

It said: “So, while the Government will continue to listen to views and look at alternative systems, including the various approaches taken internationally, the Government’s view is that there are significant benefits from having an Ofsted overall effectiveness grade.

“In our view the priority is to look for ways to improve the current system rather than developing an alternative to it.

“This includes considering with Ofsted the presentation of its findings and grades, and opportunities to highlight some of the detail sitting under the summary grade.”

The DfE added that it agreed with the cross-party group that part of this is about “increasing visibility” of the graded sub-judgments that Ofsted makes – such as “quality of education” and “behaviour and attitudes”.

Lip service

Ruth Perry's sister Julia waters said:

"The Government's refusal, in the face of overwhelming evidence, to get rid of those simplistic, misleading and harmful one or two-word judgements is just one example of a refusal to take action when it's so urgently needed.

"The coroner in the inquest into my sister's death warned that there is a risk of future deaths if only lip service is paid to learning from tragedy's like my sister's, and so far that is all that the government has come up with. "

Deeply Disappointing

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said:

“The Government’s response to the call for an alternative to single-phrase judgments is deeply disappointing.

“Its solution is to ‘consider’ the presentation of Ofsted reports rather than the system itself.

“This is despite all the evidence that these single-phrase judgments are the source of sky-high stress and anxiety, damaging the wellbeing of leaders and teachers, sapping morale and causing many people to leave the profession.

“They stigmatise schools and colleges, making improvement more difficult to secure, and thus they do a disservice to children, parents and communities.

“The problem is not presentational; it is that the system is fundamentally flawed and must change.”

Dismay

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said:

"this misses an opportunity to take significant steps towards meaningful change”.

“The DfE’s refusal to accept that single-word judgments should be scrapped will be met with dismay across the teaching profession.”

Nuanced

Conservative MP Robin Walker, chairman of the Education Select Committee, said:

“In recent months we have seen encouraging signs that the inspectorate has listened and is willing to change.

“It is especially welcome to hear from DfE that it is open to ideas about how the single-word judgments system could be improved upon – a set of policies that the Government alone has the authority to change.

“My committee agrees that there are benefits to having a system of judgments or ratings, such as the clarity they provide for parents.

“But we also maintain that a more nuanced version of this system is both achievable and in everyone’s interests.”

Improve

An Ofsted spokesman said:

“Ofsted aims always to be a force for good in this country, ensuring schools, children’s homes, nurseries and colleges deliver the highest standards of education and care to children.

“But we know we can improve. That is why we launched the Big Listen, which invites feedback from parents, professionals and children on everything we do.”

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