It has raised concerns about the “stress and anxiety” experienced by school staff “due to the high-stakes nature of Ofsted’s inspections” and wants to see action from the inspectorate.
Ofsted should also develop an alternative to “reductive and simplistic” single-word inspection judgements “as a priority”. The new system must “better capture the complex nature of a school's performance”, the inquiry says.
The long-running inquiry has been carried out by MPs on Parliament’s Education Select Committee.
The report, which was published on Monday (January 26), contains a range of recommendations and comes at a time when Ofsted is under huge pressure to reform following the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry.
The inquest into Ruth Perry's death ruled that the November 2022 inspection of her school “lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity”, was at times “rude and intimidating”, and had “contributed” to her suicide.
The committee’s inquiry raises fears that Ofsted has lost the trust of the teaching profession and the report states that “there is a strong perception that Ofsted as an organisation is ‘defensive’ and unwilling to listen to and respond to criticism”.
It says the appointment of new chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver is a chance to “reset and restore” relations with teachers.
Workload and anxiety
The inquiry heard evidence that Ofsted inspection generates “a huge amount of extra and unnecessary work” and “introduces unacceptable levels of burden into the system”.
The report states: “Written submissions described the ‘burden of stress’ placed upon (teachers) by the need to ensure that schools were prepared for inspections, with the workload described as ‘excessive and unreasonable’, ‘crushing’, and ‘relentless’.”
There was evidence that the inspection framework places “on-going stress” on schools due to its sheer breadth and its emphasis on “deep dives”, which can be particularly difficult for small schools.
For its part, Ofsted told MPs that it has published a range of materials in an attempt to remove “common misconceptions and myths” about inspection-related workload, but the report adds: “The evidence we received acknowledged that Ofsted had made efforts to address misconceptions, but on the whole did not believe that this had been effective in reducing workload.”
Despite this myth-busting work, the inquiry heard testimony of school leaders trying to “second guess” what Ofsted wants. One witness said that in some schools “there is never a day when Ofsted is not mentioned”.
The report adds: “Witnesses explained that due to the ‘high-stakes’ nature of inspections, it was inevitable that school leaders would do everything they could to ensure that they were prepared.”
The report calls on Ofsted to review the implementation of its framework and to conduct research to “fully understand the causes of inspection-related workload pressure and assess what changes could genuinely help reduce this”.
The MPs have also asked the DfE and Ofsted to review the support mechanisms available to school leaders during and following inspection.
It adds: “Ofsted must publish a clear policy, and train inspectors, on their approach to dealing with distress among school leaders during an inspection, and in what cases inspections can and should be paused or deferred.”
As part of its response to the coroner’s report, Ofsted has already published details on how and when inspections can be paused for reasons that include the distress of the headteacher.
Single-word judgements
The inquiry heard “a great degree of concern” about single-word judgements, including that they can be seen as “reductive or simplistic”.
The report states: “The single-word judgement was one of the most strongly criticised issues in the evidence we received. We heard concerns … that reducing a school to a single word was a ‘blunt instrument’ that does not capture the full detail and nuance of the work of a school.”
The inquiry heard testimony that the single-word judgement is a key driver of stress and anxiety for school leaders. In his evidence, Tom Middlehurst, an inspections specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The single biggest impact that Ofsted could have on the wellbeing and workload of school leaders, college leaders and staff and teachers, which would therefore trickle down to the students and recruitment and retention … is to remove single-phrase judgements.”
MPs are calling on the DfE and Ofsted to “as a priority, develop an alternative to the single-word judgements that better captures the complex nature of a school's performance”.
As an interim step, MPs recommend that Ofsted publishes the full list of judgements for a school and not just the overall rating. Schools should do the same, the report says.
Safeguarded judgements
Ofsted should review its policy of linking safeguarding to the overall school judgement, the report states.
If problems are found in a school’s safeguarding practices, current policy makes it “likely” that an overall “inadequate” judgement will follow, even if the problems are minor and easily fixed.
This was the scenario that saw Ruth Perry’s school judged inadequate and in response to the coroner’s report Ofsted has already introduced a system of “rapid returns” (within three months) for such schools in order to give them time to “remedy issues and improve their inspection grade”.
Ofsted has also pledged to "explore" making safeguarding a standalone judgement, “decoupled” from the leadership and management grade.
However, the report adds: “While some welcome steps have been set out in Ofsted’s initial responses to the coroner’s report, the committee heard widespread support for looking at alternative approaches to safeguarding.
“Ofsted should review this policy and ensure schools only receive ‘inadequate’ judgements where they are fundamentally failing to keep children safe.
“The committee concludes that DfE should consult on a new approach where routine elements of safeguarding are removed from general inspections and could instead become the subject of more frequent safeguarding audits, either by an independent body or local authorities.
“Ofsted’s focus should be on how well schools respond to serious safeguarding issues and how effectively children are protected in practice.”
Complaints system
MPs heard “strong criticism” of Ofsted’s complaints procedures, with accusations that the inspectorate was “marking its own homework”.
Witnesses expressed their frustration that appeals were limited because Ofsted does not share the evidence base it collects during inspections.
The Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted was also criticised for only being able to look at how the inspectorate has handled a complaint, rather than managing the complaint itself.
The report recommends that Ofsted should conduct an “in-depth review of the complaints process” and explore setting up “an independent body with powers to investigate judgements through scrutiny of the evidence base”.
The review should also consider allowing schools access to the evidence used to reach a judgement.
Other recommendations
MPs heard “broad agreement” that inspections are not long enough to give an accurate picture of a school’s performance. As such, the report recommends that inspections should be less frequent, but more in-depth and take longer. The report recommends such a system of inspection could see schools visit every five to six years for “good” and “outstanding” settings and three to four years for schools judged “requires improvement” or “inadequate”. It adds: “This should be supported by better use of risk assessment to identify schools in most need of inspection.”
The inquiry heard “a great deal of concern” that inspectors can often lack relevant expertise about the schools they are inspecting: “A high number of written submissions described inspections where the inspector did not have the appropriate expertise, with lack of experience in primary, early years, and specialist education particularly highlighted as recurring problems.” The report recommends that Ofsted should “ensure, as a minimum, that a lead inspector has expertise in the type of school they are inspecting”. It adds: “The majority of inspectors visiting a school should also have relevant experience of said school type.”
The report calls on the DfE to reassess the policy of maintained schools being required to become academies if they receive two “requires improvement” judgements. MPs are concerned that this threat hanging over schools “raises the stakes for headteachers who then fear losing their job”. It wants to see more guidance from the DfE “setting out in more detail the criteria for academy orders”.
The report recommends that the DfE authorises Ofsted to develop a framework for the inspection of multi-academy trusts (MATs) “as a matter of urgency”.
Commentary
Robin Walker MP, chair, Education Select Committee: “The bulk of the evidence we received expressed widespread and deep concern about how the system works. We repeatedly heard that Ofsted has lost the trust of a significant chunk of the teaching profession and leaders.
“Changes to inspection practice announced by Ofsted last year were welcome, but more action is required – particularly regarding the areas of concern highlighted by the inquest into Ruth Perry’s death. Ofsted must ensure it continues to listen and reform through 2024.
“On the now totemic issue of single-word judgements, Ofsted and ministers should heed the widespread calls for change.
“We heard of the sheer pressure that Ofsted inspections can exert on headteachers, some of whom fear losing their jobs due to ramifications of receiving a negative judgement. The DfE needs to review policy decisions which add to this ‘high stakes’ perception and ensure there is a clearer support offer for schools in need of improvement.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary, National Education Union: “What this report clearly shows is that the relationship between Ofsted and the profession has broken down, and trust is next to non-existent. Schools are complex, and single-word judgements are not a sustainable means of assessing them. Replacing them with a more considered statement is important, but dialogue between schools and 'improvement partners' is much more likely to yield genuine change. We need Ofsted to be replaced altogether by a system of inspection which is supportive, effective and fair. The inspectorate in its current form is none of these things.”
Tom Middlehurst, inspection specialist, Association of School and College Leaders: “The committee has identified what the education profession already understands only too well, that inspections can have devastating consequences for school and college leaders.
“We are pleased that the committee has added their voice to the calls for an alternative to single-phrase judgements, which must now be consigned to history once a new system can be agreed upon and effectively implemented. It’s becoming increasingly clear that a more nuanced system can better inform schools and parents, while removing unnecessary pressure on staff.
“The work already carried out by the new HMCI has given grounds for cautious optimism, but this report underlines the scale of the challenge in front of him. There is a great deal that needs to change in order for Ofsted to win back the trust of the profession.”
- Education Committee: Ofsted’s work with schools, January 2024: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7761/ofsteds-work-with-schools/publications/