Commenting in response to the publication of Ofsted's Big Listen action
monitoring report, and the announcement that trials of the
new inspection approach will begin in January, Julie McCulloch,
Director of Policy at the Association of School and College
Leaders, said:
“We recognise the effort that Ofsted has made this year to repair
the damage to its relationship with schools and colleges. The
feedback we have received has been largely positive about an
improvement to the tone of inspections. The removal of overall
single-word graded judgements in school inspections has also been
a big step towards a fairer and more proportionate inspection
system.
“However, there is much work to do to ensure the new approach of
using report cards to assess a school's performance is
implemented successfully. There are many different ways in which
report cards could be designed and used, and it is essential that
the Department for Education and Ofsted properly consult on
different options. It is sensible and right to pilot any new
approach, but we would question how genuine and open a
consultation exercise really is if Ofsted will be simultaneously
piloting their preferred approach.
“We are encouraging the government and Ofsted to take the time
they need to make this much-needed change, and to take both
schools and parents with them. This is too important to rush.”
