Responding to the education secretary's speech at the Centre for Social Justice, in which she outlined the proposed changes to Ofsted and school accountability, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said:
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: “School leaders share the education secretary’s determination to ensure that all children, no matter what their background, receive a first-rate education, and they welcome fair, proportionate accountability. However, we are deeply concerned that many of Ofsted’s proposals will hinder, not help in this mission.
“The inspectorate previously struggled to offer a fair reliable and consistent single-word rating during a two-day inspection, harming teacher and leader retention and driving sky-high rates of ill health. Rather than engage in fundamental reform it seems to think it can judge multiple complex areas in the same timeframe, piling more unnecessary pressure on school leaders and their staff working hard to deliver for pupils.
“What’s needed is a constructive approach to schools facing the greatest challenges to improve, supported by significantly more investment. We urgently need to better understand how RISE teams will work alongside schools – but make no mistake, if their operation is informed by a flawed inspection framework this will undermine their effectiveness.
"It’s important this government makes a clean break from the past and avoid using the same old tired tropes from previous administrations which focused on blaming and shaming, rather than working with schools. The current accountability system unfairly penalises schools working in the most difficult circumstances. Labelling schools which face the most significant challenges has helped no-one. We desperately need a new approach where everyone works together to ensure those schools have the resources and support they need to succeed.
“The education secretary stressed the importance in her speech of hearing the views of everyone during the forthcoming consultation, but it will be crucial she acts upon the concerns raised to ensure these plans are redrawn to focus on a more nuanced and helpful narrative of schools’ strengths and weaknesses rather than crude sub-grades.
"That might mean delaying implementation of reform, but for the sake of our children it’s absolutely essential we get this right.”
