ASCL leader Geoff Barton is calling for greater consistency in
Ofsted inspections after a survey revealed that schools are being
asked to provide evidence which inspectors are not supposed to
request and which add to workload pressures.
In a recently launched government video, Working Together on
Workload, Ofsted’s national director of education, Sean
Harford, lists a number of “myths” about what inspectors want to
see when they visit schools.
A survey by the Association of School and College Leaders showed
that in a number of the areas listed,
inspections are largely consistent and schools
are not for the most part being asked for evidence which
inspectors are not supposed to request.
Nearly all respondents (98%) said they were not asked for
individual lesson plans, 99% said inspectors had not specified
how lesson planning should be set out, and 94% said they were not
asked for written records of oral feedback given to students.
But our survey of 476 headteachers, deputy heads and assistant
heads of English secondary schools inspected since the beginning
of 2016, also made the following findings:
- · Ofsted says that
inspectors don’t require schools to predict the attainment of
their pupils or their progress score, but 62% of respondents said
their school was asked to predict pupil attainment, and 47% said
they were asked for predicted progress scores.
- · Ofsted says it
does not require extensive tracking of how pupils are doing, but
45% of respondents said their school was asked to provide this
information.
- · Ofsted says its
inspectors do not expect to see a particular frequency or
quantity of work in pupils’ books, but 34% of respondents said
inspectors had asked to see this type of evidence.
However, there are signs that the situation is improving in the
first two of these areas, with about 8% fewer respondents
reporting such requests in 2017 and 2018, compared to 2016, while
the proportion in the third area was broadly similar.
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said: “We have to reduce unsustainable and
onerous levels of workload in schools because of the impact this
burden has on the welfare of staff and on teacher recruitment and
retention.
“It seems as if Ofsted is making progress in ensuring that its
inspection teams do not make requests for evidence in line with
its own myth-busting guidance.
“But in certain key areas, there is clearly some way to go if
Ofsted is to show the level of consistency that it would rightly
expect from school leaders.
“It is essential inspections are consistent and that no school is
asked to provide evidence which generates unnecessary workload.
“We support Ofsted’s work in dispelling the myths about what it
expects to see, but we have to make sure that this is reflected
in practice on the ground.
“We have fed back the results of this survey to Ofsted to assist
in that process.”
