At this year’s Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in Harrogate, the Education Policy Institute has partnered with the Association of School and College Leaders to hold a public panel on ‘Will the plans for school report cards improve accountability or not?’
Accountability remains a contentious area of education policy. The current system of Ofsted inspections and performance tables is often hardest on schools facing the greatest challenges and in the most disadvantaged areas. They are more likely to be labelled as underperforming and this label then makes it more difficult for the school to improve. In addition, schools with highly inclusive intakes are at potentially greater risk from negative judgements – and this means that the accountability system provides a disincentive to being inclusive.
In addition, teachers and school leaders report negative impacts on their mental health and wellbeing because of the high-stakes nature of the accountability system. These pressures can then impact on recruitment and retention. They feel that Ofsted inspections are inconsistent and that the judgements they deliver are too blunt – reducing the complexity of a school’s provision to labels. They are concerned that performance measures are focused entirely on a narrow definition of academic success.
In response, the government has ended single-word judgements in Ofsted inspections and promised to introduce report cards to measure school performance more broadly from September 2025. Ofsted held a Big Listen consultation to gather views from the sector and is currently trialling a new approach to inspections with a further consultation on the plans to be launched in January 2025. However, there are concerns that the pace of reform will not allow for adequate consultation, risking the implementation of a system that is not a marked improvement on its predecessor.
The Liberal Democrats have a key role to play in holding the government to account over these reforms and ensuring that they deliver an accountability system which works in the best interests of all children and young people, and is supported by teachers and school leaders.
This panel will bring together politicians, school leaders and sector experts to examine what the reforms should look like to ensure they deliver for children, teachers and leaders. Panellists will discuss the practicalities of rolling out the system within the given time frames; how to ensure the reforms have the trust and confidence of the education sector and ultimately, what is needed to meet the stated aims of measuring schools in the round and focusing on support for the most disadvantaged pupils.
We are delighted to be joined by Pepe Di’Iasio (General Secretary, ASCL) and Jonny Uttley (CEO, The Education Alliance). Natalie Perera, EPI’s Chief Executive, will chair the session. Other panellists will be confirmed shortly.
** Note: This event will take place in the conference secure zone. To access the secure zone you will need to obtain a pass directly from the Liberal Democrat Party.**
