Revision of the inspection system in England

1. Ofsted – Revise, Revise, Demise
for @HeadsRoundTable
Stephen Tierney
Executive Headteacher
Christ the King Catholic Primary School
& St. Mary’s Catholic College, Blackpool

2. Revise Ofsted - Part 1a

3. Revise Ofsted - Part 1a
• Reports should move to a single “Overall
Effectiveness” graded at one of three levels
– Ofsted are not able to discern effectively Quality
of Teaching nor Behaviour in a two day visit
– Leadership & Management grades are a farce
– Quality of Teaching & Behaviour including
approaches are for schools to determine
– Move to grades Effective (1), Satisfactory but
Requires Improvement (2) & Inadequate (3)

4. Revise Ofsted - Part 1b

5. Revise Ofsted - Part 1b
• The Progress 8 measure has the potential to
set a benchmark
– Allow for a degree of variation, “significance” is
set at -0.5 of a grade. One year or more?
– Ofsted inspections become a “table top exercise”.
School visits stop.
– Reallocation of capacity (funds & expertise) to
support system improvement

6. Ofsted’s Demise Part 2
• Build Controls (Quality) into the System
– Increase Teacher Quality – recruitment, initial
training, on-going CPD expectations
– Alignment – Curriculum, Assessment,
Accountability, Pay & Conditions
– Curriculum Coherence
– Licensing Governance (not teachers) – it’s been
the only game in town
– Set the floor for ten years – system responsibility
for all schools to get above it