West Midlands headteacher says new Ofsted system needs to be clearer and fairer to parents
Ofsted have scrapped their single-word judgements such as: outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate
A school in the West Midlands has said that reform to Ofsted should make the system clearer so that it is easier for parents to make informed decisions on where they send their children to school.
Clare Harris is a headteacher from Perryfields school in Oldbury, “I would support any measure that makes the current system fairer and clearer.”
It comes as Ofsted announce a reform to their system and the scrapping of single-word judgements such as: outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.
Harris said the single-word judgement helped parents to have a clear understanding of what condition the school was in.
“For parents in particular, when they’re choosing a school for their child, they do need something that is going to help them inform that decision,” said Harris.
Ofsted have defended the reform. They say the former ranking system put pressure on school leaders.
In 2023 a coroner concluded that a downgrading from "outstanding" to "inadequate" contributed to headteacher Ruth Perry's suicide.
With children heading back to school in the coming days, the system is being reformed with immediate effect so that the 2024-2025 academic year can follow a new system.