Does Ofsted’s one-word judgements ‘actually help parents’ … and raise standards?
This blog unpicks the complexities and implications of Ofsted’s single-word judgements, urging a reconsideration of this oversimplified approach.
A measure of school effectiveness?
Earlier this week, the Education Select Committee published its first inquiry into Ofsted’s work with schools.
Ofsted’s single-word judgements – ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires Improvement’, and ‘Inadequate’ – attempt to encapsulate a school’s overall effectiveness. This simplification, meant to provide clarity, often masks the nuanced realities of school life and achievement, providing a binary perception of success or failure.
Having worked in the English education system for 32 years, I have received all the Ofsted badges. From life as a teacher during lesson observations, as well as achieving all the badges in my life as a school leader.
My practice has refined over time with experience, but largely nothing is different to what I do today in the classroom from what I did in 1993 …
