Responding to Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s
planned speech to ASCL Annual Conference outlining how Labour
would consult on a new ‘report card’ to replace Ofsted’s four
headline grades, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the
Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“Labour is clearly putting more flesh on the bones of its
education policies as we approach a General Election, and the
direction of travel it is setting out is very refreshing. The
current system of Ofsted graded judgements of schools and
colleges is too blunt and reductive. There is so much more to a
school or college than a single descriptor, and when that
judgement is negative it is actually stigmatising and makes it
more difficult to secure improvement. That is totally
counterproductive and the system must change. A report card has
the potential to provide a much fuller and fairer picture of
schools and colleges while also being more informative for
parents and carers.
“An annual review of safeguarding is also an idea that we
welcome. This is such a vital area that it makes sense to detach
it from the normal cycle of educational inspections, and give
schools, colleges and families an annual assurance that the
correct processes and systems are in place over the welfare of
pupils. Safeguarding is the number one priority of everyone in
education and this proposed approach reflects that.”
