Ofsted’s reforms: a change of direction or just rearranging the deckchairs?

Ofsted is currently consulting on changes to how it inspects the education sector. This review was prompted by the tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry. It was appalling that it took such an extreme event for government and Ofsted to acknowledge that Ofsted had become a huge source of stress and additional workload for education leaders and staff: be that living with the uncertainty of when Ofsted would appear; the high stakes and intensive process of inspections or the fallout of a disappointing grading. When responding to the current Ofsted consultation we should consider whether it is likely to address these issues.

Few would challenge the need for schools and settings to be accountable, but we should look closely at what that means. Any system of inspection must be:

• Fair – applying principles of natural justice, including having accessible means of redress to challenge decisions
• Proportionate – not increasing workload or requiring unnecessary processes to be gone through
• Robust – its findings must be reliable, consistent and accurate
• A catalyst for improvement – in line with the saying that “weighing the pig will not make it grow”, a system that only attempts to measure quality but not to improve it is unproductive
• Respectful and collaborative – it should be done with the sector, not to it.

Ofsted’s proposed changes do not move it significantly closer to meeting these criteria. Replacing single-word judgements with report cards is really just another way of presenting the same approach, suggesting that the quality of education can be quantified in a standardised way based on a snapshot judgement made at a single moment in time. It does not seem likely to decrease the stress or workload for leaders and practitioners, or to increase the accuracy of judgements, especially as it is likely to increase the workload of inspectors. It does not move towards a more collegiate, co-constructed approach or encourage reflection and innovation.

Our draft response to the consultation is below. We welcome any further feedback from members before the submission date (28 April 2025).