Labour’s plan to scrap one-word Ofsted ratings could widen education inequalities by making scrutiny of school standards the preserve of time-rich parents, experts have said.
The party has pledged to ditch Ofsted’s blunt one-word grading system in favour of more lengthy “report cards” if it comes into power, in a bid to make the inspections process less punitive.
It comes after the inspections watchdog faced a backlash over its grades after being linked to the death of the headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life in January after learning that her Caversham Primary School in Reading would be downgraded from “outstanding” to “inadequate”.
But experts have suggested scrapping the one-word grading system, which forms one of Labour’s key education policies to date, could make the school selection process more difficult for parents.
Luke Tryl, a former director at Ofsted and ex-education adviser to the Government, told i that the move risks “gaming the education system” towards more “engaged parents that can afford to spend more time doing the research”.
“I think the unintended consequence of Labour’s policy here is that we create something which on paper looks like some great, balanced scorecard, but is basically only read by a small few and leaves behind the vast majority of parents behind,” he said.
