We are pleased to see the Government follow through on its manifesto commitment to abolish reductive, single-word Ofsted judgments. This change was widely called for, including by sector professionals, a former Ofsted Chief Inspector and the Times Education Commission.
We hope this will go some way to ease the high-stakes nature of accountability and give schools the flexibility and confidence to deliver a more well-rounded school experience that prepares young people for their next steps in both work and life. Our work looking at inspection regimes across the four nations highlights a gap between the intentions of inspectorates versus the way stakeholders interpret frameworks and experience inspections. This is a chance to reset this relationship by establishing a more collaborative approach.
Edge CEO, Alice Gardner, said:
“Yesterday’s announcement is a real chance to reset the relationship with the education sector but also to realign our accountability system with what we know parents, young people and communities value and makes for a well-rounded education – excellent quality teaching, a safe and supportive environment to learn, the development of skills, opportunities to engage in wider enrichment and meaningful CEIAG. We hope that the Government will work in consultation with the sector and communities as it moves forward with its plans for a Report Card."
The report card being developed to replace single-word judgements (due to be rolled out next year) is an opportunity to better align the accountability system with what parents, young people, schools, colleges, universities and communities want to see delivered in education and promote the best outcomes for all young people, whether that is further education, training or employment.
Our polling suggests this means a greater emphasis on skills for work (88% support) and life (90%), encouraging more young people to explore technical or vocational options (82%), and better careers advice and guidance (86%).
What will be absolutely key is that the metrics are not purely a recital of the existing Ofsted sub-judgments, but offer a clearer representation of the school or college.
While this change is only applicable to schools for now, the Government has indicated that this will extend to colleges at a later date – we urgently need more clarity on these timelines. We are currently looking at how FE colleges experience Ofsted inspections, with a final report expected in the Autumn.