Almost half of “deteriorating” primary schools improved their Ofsted judgment despite poor progress between inspections
New research by the Education Policy Institute suggests there is “significant inconsistency” between the identified deterioration in academic standards of schools rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ across the country and the resulting Ofsted judgement.
A total of 1,221 primary and 228 secondary schools were identified by researchers as having deteriorated substantially between their previous and latest inspections. However, of these, 962 primaries and 152 secondaries received the same or higher rating in their latest inspection.
The report states that 47% of deteriorating primaries and 33% of deteriorating secondaries “actually improved their Ofsted judgements, in spite of large decreases in the value-added progress measures between inspections”.
The analysis also found that secondary schools with up to 5% of pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) are over three times as likely to be rated ‘outstanding’ as schools with at least 23% FSM. Primary schools with high numbers of children on FSM are only half as likely as those with low proportions to be judged ‘outstanding’.
The EPI suggest that schools may be “enabled to coast” if Ofsted judgments are too generous to schools with low disadvantage/ high prior attainment.
Malcom Trobe, ASCL Interim General Secretary, commented on the findings saying: “These findings suggest that schools in disadvantaged areas, which already face significant challenges, may be unfairly treated by the inspection system. This is a matter of great concern, and we recommend that the incoming Ofsted Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, investigates the situation.
“Poor Ofsted ratings can damage the recruitment and retention of teachers, and the morale of the entire school community. It is essential that they are a fair and accurate reflection of school performance, and that they take into account the circumstances and challenges in individual schools.”
Russell Hobby, NAHT General Secretary, called the current inspection regime “adversarial”, adding: “Some great practice can be found by school leaders in deprived communities, but often their results do not reflect this.
“If a school serving a deprived community receives a poor Ofsted judgement, then it is likely that school leaders, however talented, will be replaced. Schools given a poor rating often find it harder to recruit teachers, meaning that at a time of a crisis in recruitment, the schools that would benefit the most from high quality teachers, are at the back of the queue when it comes to recruiting them.”