Commenting on Ofsted’s response to the consultation on their planned new report cards, Natalie Perera, Chief Executive of the Education Policy Institute, said:
“Introducing a new inspection system and juggling the different priorities of parents and teachers was always going to be a challenge.
Any reform to inspection comes with high stakes. As our own research has found, a flawed system can have a negative impact on pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Getting this wrong can have an adverse effect on teacher retention, school funding and the ability of a school to recover and deliver high standards.
Ofsted has made some changes to the new inspection arrangements, following feedback from the sector and parents. We welcome the move to fewer evaluation areas as well as a greater focus on inclusion across the framework and the recognition of wellbeing of staff and pupils. We remain concerned that inspectors will struggle to distinguish between a five-point scale, this approach suggests a level of precision that will be difficult to achieve through a relatively short inspection process.
It is important that schools are given enough time to adapt to these new arrangements, and that inspectors are given adequate training. We are pleased to see that Ofsted will be commissioning an external evaluation of these reforms, and we hope this signals a commitment to continued improvement.”
