Commenting on the report of the Education Policy Institute (EPI)
on “stuck schools”, Julie McCulloch, Director of Policy at the
Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“This report confirms that what is desperately needed to improve
the fortunes of schools which are trapped in a cycle of negative
Ofsted ratings is more support and less punishment.
Unfortunately, we have a system in which negative Ofsted ratings
stigmatise schools, ruin careers and damage professional
reputations.
“Fewer children then attend these schools – which puts pressure
on funding – and it is more difficult to attract staff. It is
very hard to escape this vicious circle and secure the
improvement that is needed by pupils, families and communities.
“Given that these schools are often in areas of high disadvantage
it is easy to see that the outcome of such a system is that
so-called ‘stuck schools’ can become a baked-in feature of
communities which desperately need the ‘levelling up’ help that
the government so frequently talks about but does not actually
deliver.
“As this report shows, other schools facing challenging
circumstances have managed to avoid a continuous cycle of
negative Ofsted judgements. So, this is a complex picture that
cannot be ascribed to a single cause or be solved by a single
solution. However, what is abundantly clear is that the current
system does not help matters and that there must be a reset in
which school inspections are part of a holistic strategy to
target support where it is needed rather than a big stick with
which to beat schools.”
