Inspections Clinic: Changes to school inspections

Ofsted has announced changes to school inspections and the way it handles complaints in response to criticism of the way it operates.

The regulator faced a fierce backlash following the suicide of head teacher Ruth Perry after her school was downgraded from “outstanding” to “inadequate”.

It announced a package of measures designed to improve the inspection process in England and lift some of the pressures on school staff.

“When we inspect schools, our priority must be children’s education and wellbeing. At the same time, we want to make inspection as positive an experience for school staff as it can be,” says an Ofsted spokesperson.

“Recently there has been considerable debate about inspections and we have been thinking carefully about how we can improve the way we work with schools without losing our clear focus on the needs of children.

“We have listened to many voices in this debate. The discussions we engaged in helped us to formulate the package of measures we announced in June.”

The changes come alongside additional funding from the Department for Education for wellbeing support for head teachers.

They have been broadly welcomed by the sector but teaching unions say they don’t go far enough to address concerns about the impact of single-word inspection judgments (see below).

Meanwhile, the early years sector says Ofsted needs to look at the impact of the current inspection regime on all types of providers and not just schools.

Here is a summary of the key changes.

1. Faster re-inspection of schools with safeguarding failings

Inspectors will now return more quickly to schools rated “inadequate” overall due to ineffective safeguarding – where all other judgments were “good” or better.

“Although these circumstances are rare, we understand that schools in this situation will want to improve safeguarding quickly and parents will want to know this has been done,” says Ofsted.

Schools can expect a re-inspection within three months of an inspection report being published. If the school has been able to resolve the safeguarding concerns in that time, it is likely to see its overall grade improve.

Caversham Primary School, where Ruth Perry worked, has been re-inspected. Inspectors found the school had addressed safeguarding issues and upgraded the school’s overall rating to “good”.

2. Greater clarity on effective safeguarding

From September, Ofsted has promised to update its inspection handbook to provide “greater clarity about the threshold for effective versus ineffective safeguarding”.

The regulator said this would be reflected in training for inspectors and it would also publish blogs and host webinars on the topic for schools.

Ofsted said it would also work to ensure ineffective safeguarding was described more clearly in inspection reports “to help reassure parents and others that these judgments are not made lightly”.

3. More information about the timing of inspections

Under the plans, head teachers will now have a better idea of when their school is likely to be inspected.

They will still only get one day’s notice but Ofsted has provided more information on the broad timing of inspection so schools will know the year they are likely to be inspected.

Ofsted said the pandemic had disrupted the inspection timetable making it harder for schools to estimate when their next inspection would be. This has caused increased anxiety, especially for “outstanding” schools that used to be exempt from regular inspection.

“We recognise that leaders in many former exempt schools have not experienced inspection for a very long time and may be worried about what to expect,” said Ofsted.

It said it had started running face-to-face seminars for all outstanding schools inspected before September 2015.

4. Head teachers can share draft findings

Ruth Perry’s family say the fact she was not officially allowed to talk to them about her school’s inspection report before it was published added to her distress.

The inspection handbook states head teachers can share draft inspection findings and reports with relevant school staff and governors.

However, Ofsted says it will update the covering letter that accompanies draft reports to make it clear that “it is entirely for a head teacher to decide who to share their report with, as long as they are aware that outcomes are provisional until the report is finalised”.

Ofsted said it would also make it clear to schools that – with a small number of exceptions – staff can choose to be accompanied by a colleague when they talk to inspectors.

5. Inspection reports de-personalised

Ofsted said it would look at how it could “de-personalise” the language used in inspection reports particularly when describing areas of weakness.

From September, inspection reports will refer to “the school” by default rather than to individuals, while contextual information at the end of the report will “list all those with responsibility for the school”.

6. Revised complaints process

Ofsted has launched a consultation on changes to its complaints process with the aim of resolving complaints more quickly, reducing admin and increasing transparency.

Under the proposals, inspectors will routinely check whether schools and others have any queries or concerns at certain points during the inspection, including during the final feedback session.

The hope is that more communication will help ensure any issues are resolved before the end of the inspection visit.

The proposals would also provide a new opportunity to schools and others to call Ofsted the day after to discuss any unresolved issues, raise informal concerns or highlight information they feel was not properly considered during the inspection.

Other changes include two new routes to challenge inspection findings. Providers will either be able to highlight minor issues or submit a formal complaint, resulting in an investigation by a member of Ofsted staff independent of the inspection.

Finally, the plans would allow concerns to be escalated to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted at an earlier stage. Ofsted will also introduce regular external reviews of the way it has handled complaints. The consultation closes on 15 September.

REACTION FROM THE SECTOR

Patrick Roach, general secretary, NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union

We will need to see whether the limited changes that Ofsted has set out will address our longstanding concerns about the inspection of safeguarding and the inadequacy of Ofsted’s complaints process.

The high-stakes nature of inspection remains the elephant in the room, and with it the crude grading system, which are yet to be addressed.

Inspection and accountability should be geared towards supporting system improvement rather than punishing the dedicated and committed professionals who work tirelessly, often without the resources they need, to deliver the very best for pupils.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary, National Association of Head Teachers

While these individual measures are sensible and somewhat helpful, they go nowhere near far enough in addressing the profession’s concerns.

While the government insists on consigning schools to simplistic single-word judgments, the system will remain fundamentally flawed and put unnecessary pressure on school leaders.

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary, National Education Union

The revisions on safeguarding are a step in the right direction and reflect the need for a practical and common-sense approach where schools can quickly rectify any safeguarding gaps identified.

We agree that there must be a more responsive, transparent complaints system in place. Leaders will have informed and valuable opinions on improving Ofsted’s complaints procedure. They must be listened to, and their concerns acted upon.

We need a reliable system, built on fairness and support, not surveillance and jumping through hoops.



Neil Leitch, chief executive, Early Years Alliance

Concerns over the impact of inspections are far from limited to schools, with our own research showing that inspections are the greatest cause of stress among those working in nurseries, pre-schools and childminding settings.

How can it be acceptable, therefore, to announce a series of reforms to the way schools are inspected, while ignoring the need for change in the early years?

It is absolutely critical that as discussions around Ofsted inspections continue, any reforms are applied to all education settings inspected under the Common Inspection Framework – including early years providers – and not just schools.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive, National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA)

NDNA has been calling for the Ofsted complaints and appeals procedure to be overhauled for years, so we very much welcome this long-awaited consultation on proposed changes to handling complaints.

Ofsted inspections need to be proportionate and effective, they should not create fear for practitioners. Inspectors must understand the challenges the sector is facing and work with them collaboratively.

INSPECTION SHORTS

SOCIAL CARE

Ofsted has unveiled plans for the inspection of supported accommodation for looked-after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17. The proposals include three possible outcomes for inspections that would identify those delivering strong services, those providing inconsistent services that require improvements, and services with serious weaknesses. Under the plans, providers would get two days’ notice of inspections. A consultation runs until 8 September.

YOUTH JUSTICE

More youth justice services are achieving top inspection ratings with none rated “inadequate” for the second year running, shows the latest annual report on youth offending services. The report by HM Inspectorate of Probation shows 70 per cent of the 33 youth justice services in England and Wales were rated “good” or “outstanding” in 2022. However, it reveals ongoing concerns about young people’s access to education, training and employment.

SOCIAL CARE

The number and capacity of residential special schools registered as children’s homes continues to decline with just 56 settings registered with Ofsted at the end of March this year. The latest data on social care settings shows there has been a 36 per cent drop in the number of residential special schools registered as children’s homes since 2014 when there were 88 schools. Potential capacity dropped from 2,331 to 1,457 places over the same period. In some cases this may relate to changes in registration rather than the closure of a setting.

YOUTH JUSTICE

Young people in custody are being prevented from keeping in touch with their families by a system that places “unnecessary barriers” in the way of contact, according to a senior official at HM Inspectorate of Prisons. Team leader for children and young people Angus Jones said family support was vital for children’s wellbeing and to help them steer clear of crime on release. But he said long-standing issues around contact had got worse since the pandemic with many young offenders incarcerated far from home and unable to afford expensive phone calls.

EARLY YEARS

The number of childcare providers registered with Ofsted has fallen significantly in the past year, show the latest statistics. The overall number of providers registered has dropped by 4,800 since March 2022, with the number of childminders down by 11 per cent or 3,500. The proportion of providers on the Early Years Register judged “good” or “outstanding” at the end of the March this year was 96 per cent – the same as last year. Since 2019, the proportion judged outstanding has fallen from 20 per cent to 14 per cent.