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Ofsted chief: a quarter of 'outstanding' schools may be downgraded Ofsted chief: a quarter of 'outstanding' schools may be downgraded
(about 3 hours later)
A quarter of schools rated as outstanding may be downgraded, the chief inspector of England's schools is to warn. A quarter of schools rated as outstanding may be downgraded from this autumn, the chief inspector of England's schools has warned.
In his first speech as head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw will say that unless schools have outstanding teaching, they will be stripped of an overall outstanding rating. In his first speech as head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw said that unless schools had outstanding teaching, they could be stripped of an overall outstanding rating.
Speaking at a school in Borough, south London, Wilshaw will warn that outstanding schools are expected to share their expertise with underperforming schools and should not be doing this unless their teaching is of the highest quality. Just over 1,000 schools were rated outstanding at their last inspection, but failed to achieve a verdict of outstanding on the quality of teaching. Half of outstanding secondaries and a fifth of primaries come into this category.
Michael Gove, the education secretary, said in September he was concerned "so many" schools were judged outstanding when their teaching obtained a rating of only "good". Wilshaw, who is well-known for having turned around failing schools in challenging parts of London, said inspectors would start to re-inspect these schools from this autumn.
However, Wilshaw's comments will be viewed by teachers as another criticism of their performance. In recent months, unions say government rhetoric against the profession has reached record levels. He will be acting on the advice of Michael Gove, the education secretary, who said in September he was concerned "so many" schools were judged outstanding when their teaching obtained a rating of only "good".
The National Association of Head Teachers has said "constant castigation" has lowered morale. Wilshaw warned that teachers of outstanding schools were expected to share their expertise with underperforming schools and should not be doing this unless their teaching was of the highest quality.
Wilshaw has previously said he wants the "satisfactory" rating inspectors give schools to be replaced by "requires improvement". Headteachers of high-performing schools should consider themselves to be "conscripts … sort of part of a national service" and join inspectors on several visits to other schools a year, he said.
In changes planned to be introduced in the autumn, schools will also no longer be given notice of some inspections. "It is important that outstanding schools should not luxuriate in their own outstandingness," Wilshaw said. "There is a moral imperative and duty to support others that are doing less well. That's why I want leaders of our outstanding institutions to involve themselves in the inspection process. Ofsted needs you. Your country needs you."
Speaking on BBC's Today programme, Wilshaw said 6,000 schools were labelled as satisfactory and half of these had failed to be upgraded over six or more years. The reforms will "focus minds and ensure headteachers make more effort", he said. Wilshaw has previously said he wants the "satisfactory" rating inspectors give schools to be replaced by "requires improvement". If schools that are given a "requires improvement" rating do not improve after two inspections, they will go into the emergency category of "special measures". This means their headteacher could be forced out and the school could be strongly encouraged to become an academy.
But Clare Bradford, head of Henbury school in Bristol, whose school has been rated satisfactory for eight years, said the changes were difficult for schools in challenging areas and described the reforms as "radical". Underperforming schools exist in the most prosperous, as well as the poorest, parts of the country, Wilshaw said. Some 300 schools in leafy, well-off neighbourhoods have been judged satisfactory for several years. Faith schools in Oxfordshire and Surrey come into this category, he said.
Chris Keates, the general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said Wilshaw's statements "call into question every Ofsted judgment which has ever been made on any school". Up to 6,000 schools were labelled as satisfactory in their last inspection and half of these had failed to be upgraded over six or more years, Wilshaw said.
"He is trashing the school system, trashing the reputation of Ofsted and removing anything that parents can rely on by which to judge a school. The reforms, which are expected to come in this autumn, will "focus minds and ensure headteachers make more effort", he said. "We have got to move to a 'no excuses' culture," Wilshaw said. "We haven't addressed that yawning divide between the best and the worst and that is why I am very concerned that Ofsted should raise the bar."
"This is puerile game-playing at expense of schools, their teachers and pupils. Union leaders said that in recent months, government rhetoric against their profession had reached record levels and Wilshaw's comments were further evidence of this.
Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said Wilshaw's words were "yet more aggressive rhetoric from a chief inspector who has obviously warmed to the task of attacking the teaching profession from any angle". She said constant changes to inspections were unsettling for teachers and Wilshaw's reforms were about turning as many schools into academies as possible.
Chris Keates, the general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said Wilshaw was "trashing the school system, trashing the reputation of Ofsted and removing anything that parents can rely on by which to judge a school".
"This is puerile game-playing at expense of schools, their teachers and pupils," she said.
"The secretary of state's strategy of letting outstanding schools automatically become academies is now in tatters.""The secretary of state's strategy of letting outstanding schools automatically become academies is now in tatters."