Today's news from Ofsted that a third of schools are not 'good enough' gives me contradictory feelings. Yes, I agree that too many schools are coasting. But I am deeply depressed by the Ofsted insistence that 'satisfactory is not good enough'. This is, if nothing else, a corruption of the English language. If something is satisfactory, it satisfies the standard. And if Ofsted or the Prime Minister or the Secretray of State want to change the standard, they should do so openly and transparently.
The problem is not just an academic one of definition; as I have said previously, I would not want to go to an Employment Tribunal to say that I had dismissed a worker becasue they were only satisfactory. Only if a school (or hospital, or whatever) fails to meet published standards - that is, is unsatisfactory - can goverance and management take rapid and robust action. My main problem, though, is that many of the 'coasting' schools in middle class areas are 'good' according to Ofsted and that there are very many schools working their socks off in more deprived communities assessed as (only) 'satisfactory' becasue their results do not meet arbitrary standards set by the DfE ...
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