Amanda Spielman laid out plans for “ways to improve” Ofsted’s inspection systems following calls from school leaders to scrap its one-word gradings following the suicide of head teacher Ruth Perry earlier this year after her school was rated “inadequate”.
In a statement entitled Improving how we work, Spielman said: “I want to acknowledge the continuing debate and the strength of feeling, and I want to set out some of the things we’re doing and reflect on the suggestions of more radical reform.”
While Spielman made no commitment to changing Ofsted’s grading system, she added that the inspectorate is “looking at ways to return more quickly” to schools that have been downgraded due to safeguarding failings but have otherwise “performed well”.
“Keeping children safe is so important that a school can be graded inadequate if safeguarding is poor – even if everything else in a school is done well.
“We won’t be soft on safeguarding, but it’s an area which isn’t always well-understood,” she said.
Spielman added that Ofsted is piloting changes to its complaints system “which I hope will make it more responsive”.
However, early years leaders have called on the inspectorate to ensure this extends to the sector.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association said the current process “isn’t fit for purpose”.
She added: “Too often, providers who want to challenge factual inaccuracies or complain about the conduct of inspectors find the process is too long or do not trust they will get a thorough or fair hearing.
“Inspection and regulation is a vital activity to ensure the highest quality of provision is maintained and that children’s wellbeing and safety is maintained.”
Meanwhile, during his inaugural speech as president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), John Pearce called for greater scrutiny of the new framework for the inspection of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services.
The framework, which does not rely on one-word gradings, was launched earlier this month.
Pearce said: “We are now at the start of a revised SEND inspection framework which I fear is inspecting through the lens of the system we want, rather than the system we have, warts and all.
“This inspection framework must be aligned closely with Ofsted’s school inspection and CQC’s (Care Quality Commission) health inspection if it is to be meaningful and support improvement.”
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Read a full interview with John Pearce in the May edition of CYP Now
