Responding to the education secretary's speech at the Centre for
Social Justice, in which she outlined the proposed changes to
Ofsted and school accountability, Paul Whiteman, general
secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said:
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT,
said: “School leaders share the education secretary's
determination to ensure that all children, no matter what their
background, receive a first-rate education, and they welcome
fair, proportionate accountability. However, we are deeply
concerned that many of Ofsted's proposals will hinder, not help
in this mission.
“The inspectorate previously struggled to offer a fair reliable
and consistent single-word rating during a two-day inspection,
harming teacher and leader retention and driving sky-high rates
of ill health. Rather than engage in fundamental reform it seems
to think it can judge multiple complex areas in the same
timeframe, piling more unnecessary pressure on school leaders and
their staff working hard to deliver for pupils.
“What's needed is a constructive approach to schools facing the
greatest challenges to improve, supported by significantly more
investment. We urgently need to better understand how RISE
teams will work alongside schools – but make no mistake, if their
operation is informed by a flawed inspection framework this will
undermine their effectiveness.
"It's important this government makes a clean break from the past
and avoid using the same old tired tropes from previous
administrations which focused on blaming and shaming, rather than
working with schools. The current accountability system unfairly
penalises schools working in the most difficult circumstances.
Labelling schools which face the most significant challenges has
helped no-one. We desperately need a new approach where everyone
works together to ensure those schools have the resources and
support they need to succeed.
“The education secretary stressed the importance in her speech of
hearing the views of everyone during the forthcoming
consultation, but it will be crucial she acts upon the concerns
raised to ensure these plans are redrawn to focus on a more
nuanced and helpful narrative of schools' strengths and
weaknesses rather than crude sub-grades.
"That might mean delaying implementation of reform, but for the
sake of our children it's absolutely essential we get this
right.”
