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.