{"id":208828,"date":"2024-07-12T07:22:24","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T06:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=208828"},"modified":"2024-07-12T07:23:13","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T06:23:13","slug":"ofsted-not-fit-for-purpose-finds-alternative-big-listen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/ofsted-not-fit-for-purpose-finds-alternative-big-listen\/","title":{"rendered":"Ofsted ‘not fit for purpose’, finds ‘alternative big listen’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The \u201calternative big listen\u201d survey<\/a> compiled to rival a formal Ofsted consultation on future reforms has revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the watchdog, with nine in 10 respondents deeming it \u201cnot fit for purpose\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank Norris and Colin Richards \u2013 former inspectors who launched the consultation in May<\/a> because they did not believe the official poll asked the key questions needed – said Ofsted is \u201cfacing an existential crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sir Martyn Oliver launched the official Big Listen as part of a raft of measures in response to an inquest last year, which ruled an Ofsted inspection had contributed to the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ofsted was widely criticised after its own consultation did not include a specific question on whether single-phrase judgments should be scrapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respondents were able to talk about judgments in free text response fields, but critics said the watchdog had dodged asking about what many see as the fundamental flaw to inspection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ofsted ‘does not consider context’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The alternative big listen, though a self-selecting survey whose 1,368 responses have not been weighted to be representative of the sector, shows Ofsted has a mountain to climb to regain trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ninety-one per cent of respondents said the watchdog should not use one or two-word judgments to characterise the overall effectiveness of schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eighty-nine per cent said Ofsted did not sufficiently consider the context of schools\u2019 local areas when reaching judgments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ninety per cent said inspections were not consistent from place to place, and 85 per cent disagreed that the number of schools rated \u2018good\u2019 or better gave a strong indication of the overall quality of the school system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There should be a moratorium on routine inspections until a \u201cfundamental review\u201d has taken place, according to 83 per cent of respondents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ofsted faces ‘existential crisis’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The consultation\u2019s organisers said it was \u201cclear that Ofsted is facing an existential crisis \u2013 whether to engage in piecemeal change, to be fundamentally reformed or to be replaced altogether\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur findings imply that the first of these is no longer a viable option.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Frank
Frank Norris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They urged the new education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who has committed to scrapping single-phrase judgments, and Oliver to \u201ctake note of our findings and to take urgent principled action to reform the current school inspection regime\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sixty-seven per cent of respondents said Ofsted doesn\u2019t hold schools \u201cproperly to account\u201d for the quality of education they provide. Thirty-nine per cent said Ofsted did not hold schools properly to account for keeping children safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norris said the survey \u201coffers a damning critique of Ofsted and clearly demonstrates the amount of work the inspectorate needs to do in order to re-establish confidence in the process\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany believe Ofsted has lost its way and is no longer a reliable source of information on the effectiveness of the schools it inspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is encouraging that the new government is committed to reform of the inspectorate. These findings indicate they are right to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Organisers of sector-led survey say inspectorate facing \u2018existential crisis\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":205877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[25],"post-theme":[2378],"class_list":["post-208828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ofsted","post-theme-ofsted"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t