Should no-notice inspections apply to all schools?
Monday, January 23, 2012
Ofsted has announced plans to introduce unannounced inspections across all schools from September.
NO - CHRISTINE BLOWER, GENERAL SECRETARY, NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS
The NUT does not believe that no-notice inspections should apply to all schools. In fact we see no need for them in any schools.
No-notice inspections simply create a situation where schools are continuously in a state of preparedness for inspection, leading to stress, low morale and excessive workload. It also diverts attention from the central purpose of teaching and learning.
School evaluation is at its most effective when school communities understand its purpose and relevance. Evaluation by schools themselves should be at the centre of school inspection and support. The evidence from countries that have adopted "bottom-up"
self-evaluation is that such approaches have contributed to high levels of achievement for the vast majority of pupils.
YES - SIR MICHAEL WILSHAW, HER MAJESTY'S CHIEF INSPECTOR
It's no surprise that some schools will be nervous about the move to no-notice inspection because people don't like change. But schools have nothing to fear.
Over the years, we have moved from giving more than a year's warning of a visit to the current two days. No-notice inspection is the logical next step. The way inspectors engage with schools, and the issues inspections focus on, now make this possible.
To see schools precisely as they are, there is no reason why inspectors can't arrive at a school in the morning and begin observing classes within the hour, especially now that parents can tell us their views through Parent View. We will shortly launch a consultation on the details of how no-notice inspection will work and welcome the views of the profession in finalising the details.
NO - ADRIAN PRANDLE, EDUCATION POLICY ADVISER, ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS AND LECTURERS
Teachers should be held accountable for how well they teach, but tinkering with the amount of notice for inspections will not improve education for the majority of children. The move from two days' warning to inspectors strolling through the school gates unannounced will do nothing for pupils while adding to the pressure on teachers and the stress that Ofsted causes.
Inspections don't do enough to help. Implicit in Ofsted's decision on no-notice inspections is a belief that lots of schools are cheating. They would not cheat a system that was genuinely concerned with supporting them to improve. We want schools to be given support and assistance to be even better - not a system designed to catch them out.
YES - CHRIS MCGOVERN, CHAIR, CAMPAIGN FOR REAL EDUCATION AND RETIRED HEAD TEACHER
Schools should be seen as they are - warts and all, without time to prepare for inspection. A recent investigation exposed the tricks that some schools get up to in order to fool the inspectors. This included keeping "problem" pupils out of schools by sending them away on trips or on work experience and, amazingly, even paying them to stay at home.
They bring in expert teachers to replace weak ones and even display artwork borrowed from other schools. This is a fraud intended to pull the wool over the eyes of the inspectors and parents. It also sets a terrible example to young people.
NO - PHILIP PARKIN, GENERAL SECRETARY, VOICE - THE UNION FOR EDUCATIONAL PROFESSIONALS
No-notice inspections should not apply to all schools because of the strain they would put on staff.
Ofsted inspections are stressful so it would be intolerable to work under the constant stress of anticipating an inspection at any moment.
This Big Brother approach is not the way to get the best out of people. If that’s the way inspections are going, it shows a distrust of teachers and signals that the regime needs to be restructured to make it more supportive and less judgemental.
I hope this new approach doesn’t reflect Sir Michael Wilshaw’s comments ‘if …"staff morale is at an all-time low" you will know you are doing something right’. Low staff morale is a bad thing and something Ofsted should highlight as a concern rather than encourage.
NO - LESLEY GANNON, HEAD OF RESEARCH AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT FOR THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HEAD TEACHERS
Every inspection should have direct input from the head teacher, school governors and parents. No notice inspections will make this much harder to achieve and will lose credibility as a consequence.
Ofsted has itself acknowledged that there is little evidence to support claims that schools are somehow misrepresenting their performance during inspection; it has also highlighted how difficult it would be to disguise consistently weak teaching or poor behaviour.
We do not need no notice inspection and it is disappointing that Ofsted has chosen to play to the gallery rather than engage with the profession.