A more “nuanced” alternative to “totemic” Ofsted single-phrase judgments should be developed as a “priority”, MPs have said.
In its much-anticipated report on the impact of inspection, the Parliamentary education committee also called for less frequent, more detailed inspections, a longer five-day notice period for schools and a review of the government’s coasting schools policy.
It adds the committee to the growing list of individuals and organisations calling for changes to grading in the wake of the death of headteacher Ruth Perry. A coroner ruled last month she died by suicide contributed-to by an Ofsted inspection.
The inquiry was launched last summer to probe the impact of Ofsted judgments on schools and pupils, including their toll on workload and wellbeing and the “usefulness of inspections”.
