In its response to the largest public consultation in Ofsted’s history, the inspectorate has announced that it will end single-word judgments for all inspections over the next few years alongside other reforms of its work.
The announcement came 24-hours after the Department for Education revealed plans to scrap one-word ratings for state schools with immediate effect on Monday (2 September).
While no timeframe has been announced for the changes across children’s social care, the early years or further education settings, Ofsted’s chief inspector for education Sir Martyn Oliver told a press briefing that he hoped work would begin on the roll-out “from September 2025” following consultations with relevant sectors.
-
Interview: Lord Jim Knight, chair of an independent review of Ofsted
-
Inspections Clinic: Changes to school inspections
The inspectorate’s director of social care Yvette Stanley added that ungraded inspections for local authority children’s social care could be based on systems already used in joint targeted area inspections (JTAI) and local area SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) inspections.
She added that while the children’s social care sector is “travelling in the same direction” as education providers “we might need to go at a different pace”.
Children’s services
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) backed Ofsted’s plan to introduce report cards.
Rachael Wardell, ADCS vice president, said the association “has long raised concerns about the use of single word judgements as they can only ever tell a partial story and may be unjustly negative”.
“Equally, an outstanding judgement awarded some years ago does not mean every pupil today has a high quality experience or that all children’s outcomes will be exceptional,” she added.
“Using one word, or a short phrase, to describe a school, a children’s social care department or an entire system in the case of SEND, does not make sense.”
Carole Willis, chief executive of National Foundation for Educational Research, urged Ofsted not to make the report cards “too complex”.
She added that it is important for “any steps to reform the system are carefully designed to consider the potential wider and longer-term implications”.
Early years
Early years leaders called for the inspectorate to “re-engage with the sector to develop a fair system built on mutual respect”.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said: “The Big Listen was a really important exercise and we are pleased to see a very detailed response to the feedback that has been given to Ofsted. NDNA provided a detailed response following consultation with providers across the early education and care sector.
“We know from our member nurseries that Ofsted inspections can be a particular area of stress and pressure. The result of that inspection can have enormous consequences for a nursery business, both positive and negative.”
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, added: “We know early educators go above and beyond to deliver high-quality care and education but Ofsted inspections have long been a cause of significant stress across the sector. As such, we welcome proposals to recognise the importance of educators in the development of a more nuanced reporting of the strengths of providers.
"That said, for these proposals to make certain that inspections are a collaborative and supportive process, today must mark the start, not the end, of Ofsted's engagement with the sector. This is especially important given plans to review the early years inspection framework and apply it more flexibly to different types of settings.”
Young carers
Elsewhere, the Carers Trust described plans for Ofsted to renew its focus on areas including inclusion in schools as a potential “gamechanger” for young carers.
Andy McGowan, the charity’s policy and practice manager said: “Carers Trust research shows one in three young carers struggle to balance caring with their education. Persistent absence for young carers is almost double the rate of their peers and young carers are 38% less likely to achieve a university degree. By looking at inclusion, inspections would help ensure that all early years providers, schools and colleges are focusing on how they support pupils facing the greatest barriers to their education. Young carers simply must be a part of that group.”
McGowan has also urged Ofsted and education providers to include the voices of young carers in work to implement the reforms.
The inspectorate’s Big Listen, which received more than 20,000 responses, was launched after an inquest into the death of Caversham Primary School headteacher Ruth Perry ruled that the results of an Ofsted inspection, in which the school was rated as “inadequate”, contributed to her suicide.
