News

Ofsted steps-up fight to end grading of lesson observations

Ofsted has launched a pilot project that will see 'gradeless' lesson observations. Inspectors in the Midlands have been told to stop grading lessons and to use a broader approach to judging teaching quality. Pete Henshaw reports.

Ofsted’s has stepped up its on-going battle to stop the grading of lessons with the launch of a pilot programme across the Midlands.

From Monday (June 9), inspectors visiting schools in the region will not enter a grade for teaching on individual lesson observation forms.

Whether inspectors should award a grade for the lessons they observe has become a key educational debate this year.

In February, Ofsted’s national director for schools, Mike Cladingbowl, stressed that observations form just one part of the evidence that Ofsted looks at when judging the quality of teaching and that lessons should not be graded.

In an article, he said that evidence of quality of teaching was drawn from a range of sources, such as work in books, marking, and the school’s own evaluations.

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