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School inspection overhaul proposed by Ofsted School inspections overhaul proposed by Ofsted
(about 1 hour later)
The head of England's schools watchdog Ofsted is to outline proposals to change school inspections and defend his organisation, in a speech to heads. Up to 60% of England's schools could no longer be subject to full inspections under new proposals from the head of Ofsted.
Sir Michael Wilshaw will propose more frequent, lighter-touch inspections of good schools, but longer, more in-depth visits for underperforming ones. Sir Michael Wilshaw used a speech to head teachers to address concerns about the current Ofsted system head on.
He will also set out plans for using more experienced inspectors. Full inspections would be reserved for struggling schools, or those on the verge of being rated "outstanding".
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), which is meeting in Birmingham, argues change is needed. He also wanted to recruit more heads to be inspectors and to end the "outsourcing" of school inspections.
The union has raised questions about the quality of some inspectors and has called for a new two-stage inspection system. Sir Michael was talking to the Association of School and College Leaders' annual conference in Birmingham, which represents head teachers, college principals and deputies in 90% if UK schools.
A survey by ASCL of 900 head teachers found that 65% said they did not have confidence in Ofsted overall to make accurate and reliable judgements. Concerns over Ofsted inspections were high on the conference agenda.
The survey mirrors what many members of teaching unions have been saying for the past few years. 'Deep nostalgia'
However, Sir Michael will tell the ASCL conference that Ofsted is helping to push up standards. ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman said Ofsted inspections were now "a real barrier to good candidates going into difficult schools".
"Ofsted will always champion the right of every child to a decent education," he will say. "And Ofsted will always shine a spotlight on those institutions that fail to provide it." "We are getting more and more cases of people rapidly reacting to an Ofsted," he said.
Fair judgements ASCL says it has supported 146 heads and deputies in England who have left their jobs since the start of the current academic year after unfavourable Ofsted reports.
He is expected to say that schools which are currently judged good - some 60% - would no longer be subject to full routine inspections, as they are now, which last for three days. Sir Michael acknowledged head teachers' concerns, said he had loved being a head teacher and looked back on his time in the role with "deep, deep nostalgia".
Currently only outstanding schools are exempt from such inspections which usually happen for all other schools every five years. He added: "Inspection was never far away from my thoughts as I am sure it's never far away from yours.
Instead, under these proposals, schools in the top two ratings of outstanding or good would in future be visited more often - but by one inspector on a day-long visit. The proposals would need to be approved by the Department for Education. "But I come to you today, not in defence mode, but as a proud believer in the power and influence of inspection to improve young people's lives."
Sir Michael will say: "At the moment, it can be five years or even more between inspections for a good school. This is too long. It's too long for parents. It's too long between inspections to spot decline, and it's too long for improving schools to show that they are outstanding. Currently only outstanding schools are exempt from such routine inspections which usually happen for all other schools every five years.
"Far better for an inspector to visit the school for a day than for a full team to descend on the school more infrequently, and then giving, more likely than not, the same judgement as the previous inspection." Under these proposals, schools in the top two ratings of outstanding or good would in future be visited more often - but by one inspector on a day-long visit. The proposals would need to be approved by the Department for Education.
His proposals are backed by ASCL, which published a report recently similarly calling for good or outstanding schools to receive an initial one-day visit from an inspector. Around 60% of schools are currently rated as "good", and Sir Michael believes there's little point sending in teams of inspectors every five years merely to confirm that status.
This check would look at whether a full inspection was needed to come up with an action plan for improvement. Sir Michael also said he wanted to review outsourced inspections, saying the job was "just too important" to be left to "third party arrangements". In some regions of the country many inspectors are carried out by part-time inspectors contracted to large firms.
A greater focus on schools that are deemed in need of improvement is the flipside of his plans and would be enabled by a freeing up of resources. Sir Michael said he was planning to "substantially increase" the number of school inspectors employed directly by Ofsted, and that he wanted to recruit a larger number of heads and deputy heads, who might perform the role on secondment from their schools.
ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman said the current system of inspections had a "negative impact" and had "served its purpose". Ofsted will consult on the details of the plan, but in future Sir Michael hopes it will carry out shorter visits to better schools, to allow more time to be devoted to under-performing ones.
He said: "What happens sometimes is that on the back of an inspection, which recognises that schools have got areas to improve but they are still schools which are doing lots of good things, people are losing their jobs. Sir Michael also referred to allegations that Ofsted was "'mired in 60s, progressive child-centred learning' - in other words full of trendy, hippie-style inspectors".
"That's putting people off going for headship and that's very worrying. He raised a laugh by saying his daughter had reacted to the claim by saying that it was the first time he had ever been called "progressive".
"We need to move away from that," he added. The conference also heard from the Education Secretary, Michael Gove.
A consultation on the future of shape of Ofsted inspections is currently being carried out by the watchdog. In a wide-ranging question and answer session he was asked about his attitude towards the influence of old Etonians and to say what mark he would give himself in his performance as education secretary.
Sir Michael's speech comes after a report by the Policy Exchange think tank that said many Ofsted inspectors did not have the skills needed to make fair judgements of schools. His answer to that last question, "what matters most is the mindset and the effort", was greeted with laughter.
The report recommended that Ofsted abolished or radically reduced the number of inspectors it used from private firms and called for inspectors to pass an accreditation exam. Mr Gove said "money is being spent wisely by professionals, and standards are rising", and that meant inspectors - and the government - should "take a step back, and let them get on with the job.
And Sir Michael will say that he would like to carry out a "root and branch review of outsourced inspections". Mr Gove was listened to politely and received a warm round of applause at the end of the session.
Currently inspections are carried out by inspectors contracted to Ofsted through three large firms. 'Bit of a minefield'
Sir Michael will also say he wants to increase the number of inspector posts over the next few years to include a greater number of inspectors currently working in schools. Next week's planned one day strike by the NUT in England and Wales was also on many minds at the conference.
Brian Lightman said that ASCL recognised the strike was legal, and that "it's our job as professionals is to deal with that situation".
Ian Bauckham, ASCL's president, said it was not possible at this stage to know whether there would be widespread disruption as a result of the action, as the only information the NUT were obliged to provide was the number of members it had in a school.
However he dismissed suggestions by the education secretary that schools might be able to stay open with the help of parent volunteers, saying it was a "bit of a minefield."
National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Russell Hobby said: "If Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI) is to become increasingly busy in the inspection of good schools every two years, what impact will that have on the availability of these HMIs to focus on more vulnerable schools, who need confident and skilled inspectors?"National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Russell Hobby said: "If Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI) is to become increasingly busy in the inspection of good schools every two years, what impact will that have on the availability of these HMIs to focus on more vulnerable schools, who need confident and skilled inspectors?"