{"id":231625,"date":"2025-06-27T07:29:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T06:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=231625"},"modified":"2025-06-30T09:56:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T08:56:34","slug":"this-weeks-announcements-undermine-ofsteds-credibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/this-weeks-announcements-undermine-ofsteds-credibility\/","title":{"rendered":"This week’s announcements undermine Ofsted’s credibility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The modifications to inspection arrangements announced yesterday by Sir Martyn Oliver<\/a> will not go far enough to meet critics’ concerns, especially those in the primary sector, nor will they necessarily solve the problems of inspector supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oliver states that in this coming term, \u201cmost schools\u201d will have at least one inspector on the inspection team with expertise in the phase being inspected. We are unsure whether to applaud or be dismayed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are particularly concerned about that weasel word: \u201cmost\u201d. It must mean that some schools (51 per cent? 33? 10?), more likely primary than secondary ones, will not have a single inspector experienced in that phase. That is unfair and discriminatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This announcement is also a clear admission that the inspection expertise deployed in recent inspections has been inadequate to effectively judge standards and quality, again especially in the primary and early years sectors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will be no consolation to those who have been inspected in recent times. For too many who felt the judgements were too harsh and were based on tenuous and limited evidence it will support their sense of unfairness. It also raises serious questions about the validity of judgments made in all inspections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to deploy current HMI and those HMI who have left the inspectorate within the past three years as future lead inspectors is not as straightforward as it seems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

This will deprive Ofsted of some of its most talented lead inspectors<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The current cohort of HMI contains some talented and experienced colleagues, but the average length of service is only around two-and-a-half years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that they have had limited opportunities to experience the range of education provision and therefore have only built up expertise in a narrow field. This makes their appreciation of the different contexts schools operate in a major challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, some of the experienced HMI who departed the inspectorate over three years ago are now not to be available as lead inspectors. This counter-productive move will deprive Ofsted of some of its most talented and experienced lead inspectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If leadership associations decide to ask their members to not undertake inspector duties and if many comply, this will exacerbate Ofsted\u2019s problem in meeting its inspection targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these issues support the view of respondents to The Alternative Big Consultation<\/a> that a different, more radical approach to inspection needs to considered and worked through before being introduced nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And certainly not before autumn 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An announcement meant to reassure the sector will in fact only exacerbate fears that the inspectorate can’t do its job fairly and equitably<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311124,"featured_media":231613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"post-theme":[3559],"class_list":["post-231625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","post-theme-opinion-accountability"],"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