Commenting on the launch of Ofsted's consultation on new
inspection proposals, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of
the National Education Union, said:
“The proposals outlined in today's consultation will make matters
worse, not better. It will not deliver better information for
parents or school leaders.
“The Secretary of State was right to remove one-word judgements,
because she recognised the damage that they cause. It was made
clear, following tragic circumstances, that a more supportive
system was urgently required. Martyn Oliver has failed to
deliver.
“The Chief Inspector has ignored the findings from the Big
Listen. He has ignored the voice of the profession. He has set a
course for Ofsted to remain just as out of touch as before, just
as crude in its assessments.
“We had high hopes that the removal of one-word judgements would
signal a move towards a fairer, more supportive system that
better captured the unique context of each school or
college. Instead, the 1 to 5 grading scale proposed for the
report card maintains the current blunt, reductive approach that
cannot capture the complexity of school life nor provide more
meaningful information to parents.
“We are concerned that inspectors categorising ten areas into
five boxes in two days will exacerbate existing issues of
inconsistency and unreliability. It is also plain to see that
Ofsted's plan does not address the mental health impact of the
current ‘high stakes' accountability systems on the
profession.
“Ofsted judgements currently are telling us more about the
measure of disadvantage in a school than anything else. We need
to attract leaders and experienced teachers to stay in schools in
high poverty areas and that is why the labelling and ranking of
schools is so counter-productive. Ofsted's latest rebrand does
not do enough to recognise the context within which they work.
“Ofsted has failed to take seriously the enormous concerns of the
profession. Even whistleblowers from within are claiming the
process has been botched and rushed. Ofsted is a discredited
organisation with its name continually in the mud. It is
incapable of introspection or change. This new consultation
points only to continued disaster.”
