Commenting on the report from the National Audit Office (NAO) on
Ofsted’s inspection of schools, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general
secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“We welcome the NAO’s report on Ofsted’s inspection of schools;
it is both vital and timely. Ministers can't ignore this report
and the time for root and branch reform of Ofsted is now.
“The revelation that Ofsted does not know whether its school
inspections are having the intended impact to raise the standards
of education and improve the quality of children and young
peoples’ lives is devastating. It confirms the NEU’s view that
Ofsted is not fit for purpose and that we need a root and branch
review and overhaul of the system for holding schools to account
for their quality of education.
“The NAO has also provided further evidence that there are
conflicts of interest, and duplication of role, between Ofsted
and the Regional School Commissioners. We welcome that the
Department for Education will consult on this issue in the autumn
– better late than never.
“It is important that the NAO has identified that the messages
about the Ofsted ‘Myth-busters’ have not filtered down, in many
cases, to teachers. Ofsted has produced a compliance culture:
school leaders feel constrained to provide what they think
inspectors will want before considering what is best for pupils
and learning. At the same time teachers comply with instructions
from leadership and too often do not feel suitably empowered to
exercise their own professional judgement.
“Neither Ofsted inspectors nor schools can keep pace with the
frequency of change in the content and form of inspections.
Ofsted should have been, from the start, a supportive
organisation. Clearly all schools should consider and review
their practice, but the documented devastation, demotivation and
poor morale left by the current Ofsted regime, ticking very
narrow standards lists, has not been effective or helpful for
schools and colleges.
“Crucially, the NAO has concluded that Ofsted cannot demonstrate
that its inspection of schools represents value for money and the
NEU supports that conclusion. Huge sums of taxpayers’ money are
being spent on a system of inspection which demands high
standards from schools yet cannot demonstrate the same standards
itself.”
