One-word Ofsted judgements to stay, says government

The government has said that one-word Ofsted judgements for schools in England should remain.

The Education Committee has today (25 April) published the Department for Education's (DFE) response to a report from the cross-party education select committee, which said ministers "would continue to listen to views and look at alternative systems."

However, it added "there are significant benefits" to the current system. 

"In our view, the priority is to look for ways to improve the current system rather than developing an alternative to it."

They are looking at alternatives to the four single-word judgements, including looking at “various approaches taken internationally”.

One-word Oftsed judgements refer to when a school is graded using terms such as "outstanding," "good", or "inadequate."

This method of judgement has been criticised by many, including the younger sister of Ruth Perry, a headteacher who died by suicide after fears her school would be considered "inadequate."

A coroner ruled that Ofsted's inspection "contributed" to her death and said there was a risk of further deaths "unless action is taken".

The government suggested, however, that scrapping single-phrase Ofsted judgments would lead to civil servants, politicians and the media “drawing their own conclusions” about schools from the narrative in reports.

Education committee chair Robin Walker said of the report: “It is especially welcome to hear from DfE that it is open to ideas about how the single-word judgements system could be improved upon – a set of policies that the government alone has the authority to change. 

“And whilst it isn’t a firm commitment, the Department’s commitment to keep the policy of academising schools after two negative Ofsted inspections under review and to listen to different views is also welcome."

He added: “I would however urge the Government to give more thought to our recommendation of considering less frequent inspections but carried out in greater depth – a compromise that would be necessary to ensure quality due to Ofsted’s budgetary constraints.

"We are clear that we do not believe that any school should be exempt from inspection but we do believe there is scope for a more risk-based approach. If ministers do not pursue this option then it is essential they help to make the case for resourcing the inspectorate better to meet the demands of its increased workload."

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, Ofsted has "lost the trust of the profession and needs to be replaced with an altogether fairer system of school support that is supportive and effective."

He said: ‘The DfE’s refusal to accept that single word judgements should be scrapped will be met with dismay across the teaching profession. No school or college’s contribution to their community can be summed up in one word only.

"The NEU agrees with Professor Walters, Ruth Perry’s sister, who wants to build awareness of how misleading and counterproductive single word conclusions are.

"The Committee heard more concerns about single worded judgements than on any other issue, and recommended that the DFE should look to develop an alternative that better captures the complex nature of a school’s achievements."