School inspections in England will be overhauled for the second time in a year, after a barrage of complaints that the new system was dangerously stressful and damaging teachers’ mental health.
asserted
system → overhaul → health
Lucy Powell, the education secretary, will tell the schools regulator Ofsted to “go back to the drawing board” after becoming concerned that inspection changes overseen by her predecessor, Bridget Phillipson, were creating problems for headteachers.
asserted
changes → tell → headteachers
Sources say Powell does not want to scrap the new system of ratings, which score schools from “exceptional” to needing “urgent improvement” in six key areas, but she does want inspectors to take greater account of the social and economic background of each school and its pupils.
Powell’s changes, which will be communicated to Ofsted in the coming weeks, will be the second set of major alterations to the school inspection regime in just over a year, after Labour’s election manifesto pledge to replace the previous inspection framework in the wake of the death of the headteacher Ruth Perry.
One source said: “She wants Ofsted to go back to the drawing board when it comes to measuring inclusion in particular.
asserted
it → say → inclusion
That’s where most of the problems seem to lie.”
asserted
most → ’ → problems
Powell’s changes will mean a significant shift from those carried out by Phillipson, who is now equalities minister and party chair.
asserted
who → mean → Phillipson
The two MPs fought an occasionally bitter contest to become Labour’s deputy leader last year, during which allies of each traded insults and accusations.
asserted
allies → fight → insults
Andy Burnham promoted Powell, a long-term ally, to Phillipson’s job as education secretary when he entered Downing Street earlier this year.
asserted
he → promote → Street
Powell told an event at last week’s Labour party conference: “I want to see a much stronger emphasis in the current inspection regime on context, much stronger than it is at the moment.
asserted
it → tell → moment
“I think this is one of those areas that it’s not straightforward to sort of move the oil tanker around massively quickly, but we absolutely do need to see reforms there.”
asserted
we → think → reforms
Ofsted declined to comment.
asserted
Ofsted → decline → ?
The inspectorate has commissioned its own independent evaluation of the new framework, with an interim report due out later this year.
asserted
report → commission → framework
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said he was encouraged that ministers were listening to the criticism of inspections being raised by parents and experts as well as teachers.
asserted
ministers → say → parents
Whiteman said: “We have serious concerns about fairness and comparability.
asserted
We → say → fairness
Schools serve very different communities and face very different levels of challenge.
asserted
Schools → serve → challenge
Leaders working in areas of greater disadvantage, or with higher numbers of pupils with special educational needs (Send) and disabilities, must not be placed at a systemic disadvantage by an inspection framework that fails to properly reflect those contexts.
asserted
that → work → contexts
“Inspection should take account of the circumstances in which schools are operating, while recognising the tremendous work many are doing to support children facing the greatest barriers.
“
asserted
many → take → barriers
There is a need for an inspection system that is rigorous and proportionate and which genuinely supports school improvement.”
asserted
which → be → improvement
The new “report card” system came into force last year, replacing Ofsted’s headline inspection grades of “outstanding” to “inadequate”, with a more detailed system intended to put less pressure on schools.
asserted
system → come → schools
The new system was initially welcomed by teachers, though criticised by others who warned it would make it harder for parents to judge a school.
Since its implementation however, the regime has been met with a flurry of complaints from school leaders, who say it is harming their mental health and creating greater stress than the system it replaced.
asserted
it → welcome → system
Perry’s sister, Prof Julia Waters, said last month that she had been contacted by at least a dozen teachers left “feeling suicidal” by Ofsted inspections, and raised her concerns in a letter to the prime minister.
asserted
she → say → minister
Amanda Hulme, the headteacher of Claypool primary school in Bolton, told the Guardian last month that her most recent Ofsted inspection was the most stressful experience of her career.
asserted
inspection → tell → career
Unions have called for teachers to be given “urgent relief” from the new system, while some want Ofsted to stop grading their schools altogether.
asserted
Ofsted → call → schools
A survey of school staff inspected under the new regime found that two-thirds said it was as bad or worse than the framework it had replaced.
asserted
it → inspect → framework
The survey of National Education Union members also found that three out of four said the inspections had negatively affected their mental health, with one primary school teacher describing it as “a circle of stress and fear”.
asserted
teacher → find → stress
Powell is understood to be concerned that schools in more “challenging” contexts are doing worse under the new system.
asserted
schools → understand → system
A recent study by the former Ofsted inspector Steve Wren found schools with higher levels of children receiving free school meals (a key test of poverty) or Send support were receiving lower ratings than average.
asserted
schools → find → average
Wren also found that ratings for secondary schools were closely correlated with how well pupils had performed before they joined the school, suggesting inspectors were not taking sufficient account of previous attainment levels.
asserted
inspectors → find → levels
Wren said in his analysis: “Do these grades represent the reality that secondary schools with lower prior attainment are doing a markedly worse job of educating their pupils, or is the framework biased against them, or are inspectors not skilled at spotting strengths in such contexts?”
asserted
inspectors → say → contexts
The Aporia
