No more one word OFSTED gradings

Jolly good but what is being done about the recruitment of Inspectors. The attitude that we must 'break' the headteacher stinks.

sandelf, I think you make a valid point. When I retired, Ofsted were recruiting, but I hadn't any desire to join an organisation whose atmosphere seemed so unpleasant.
I am sure that some inspectors are lovely (I've met some) but it can attract people who enjoy the power over Headteachers (I've seen them, too).
This deters candidates who might be a force for good for pupils and staff.

Many parents will not read the whole report, will have just mlooked at the one word assessment.

I'm glad the one word gradings have gone but think it could have been introduced before September 2025. In the meantime, I hope Inspectors are mindful that, although schools must aim to achieve as high standards as possible, thers are people whose lives can be devastated by this high-handed approach.

sandelf

Jolly good but what is being done about the recruitment of Inspectors. The attitude that we must 'break' the headteacher stinks.

My friend, who was a Head Teacher at an infants school, dreaded the inspections. She knew some Inspectors, former teachers, as she had taught with them over the years (and not all were top-rate teachers).

We were discussing this morning. Surely it would be possible to break the inspection down into areas and mark them out of 10. They could give add the scores up and give them the whole mark. As they will still issue a report, anybody wanting more information can check that.

My experience with CQC inspections in NHS. I admit I don't know intricacies of Ofsted , but if it's on a parr with CQC,then things as simple as clinic room scales missing yearly check by a few days would serve to downgrade. All despite excellent patient care.

SallyatBaytree
For me the most useful thing about the CQC was that when I wrote to them, they took note of my complaints about the lack of care in the ward of old women, placing drinks out of reach, moving walking frames to the end of the bed and then castigating any patient who dared to use their bed table as a walking aid to get to the toilet instead, having the wrong notes at the end of the beds and more.
When they found them to be accurate, the nurse in charge was removed from the staff after their visit and his face was taken down from the “Our welcoming staff” posters.
In a similar way, can put a complaint about a school on the OFSTED website, as long as you have followed the guidelines prior to doing that.

I always found CQC helpful when I worked in care.

I was the person in charge a couple of times, and was having a very fraught day, but as the inspector said, we were all working for the betterment of the residents lives, so nothing to be afraid of.

My GD was removed from one school with a Good Ofsted rating because she was being bullied and little was being done about it by staff. Before joining our family at nearly six years old she had been in care since she was three and could not read, write or do any arithmetic though she had been attending school throughout Covid lockdowns. The first school provided some help with catching up but it was limited and it wasn't working.
She's now happily settled in a second local school with the same rating and it has been an entirely different experience. Staff are much more caring and empathetic, and all the children seem happy.
It's very difficult to assess whether a school is suitable for your child, even if you visit. In our case a visit to the second school showed us that they were very well organised and that the children were continuously assessed and helped where necessary. She's up to speed in virtually every respect now.
It may be worth saying that many of the school parents are immigrants, some of whom have been here for many years and some who came more recently. Most of their children obviously have English as a second language. Other children in the school have special needs.
The school deals with all these potential difficulties well.

I've been told by a reliable friend that a school head actually stood up and boasted that they had the lowest number of special needs children in the area. My kids never considered that 'excellent' school as they were the wrong sex. Both mine were SEN (one high IQ and severe dyslexia the other medical issues). After hearing that story, I always read the whole report. I managed to send information about how to develop a 'dyslexia friendly classroom' to the Ofsted panel when my dyslexic child wasn't supported. I found they had followed up on this and made recommendations which the school began to implement (too late for us unfortunately). Still, based on my experience I'd go for a 'satisfactory' school that supported all its pupils rather than an 'excellent' one that only ticked the 'right' boxes for Ofsted. One word does not reveal the quality of the child's experience at a school. SEN kids and loads of others who begin without any English may bring down exam scores but a school that welcomes them and demonstrates inclusiveness and humanity is, imho, a far better place to learn - this is what my disabled son experienced and he is now an adult with very good values.

I have always read the reports of any school I sent my child to but I also went by the feel of the school and my interactions with the teachers as we were shown around. My last child was the only one not to go to the local "outstanding" school which was a hundred yards up the road because when I asked what they would put in place if my child were dyslexic, the head said the LEA didn't recognise dyslexia. The school head for the school 2 miles away said they would put things in place as soon as possible so by the time the child reached Juniors, they would not be struggling. That, along with the gentle way the Yr 3 teacher dealt with the child who was distracted made up my mind for me.

Jess20

I've been told by a reliable friend that a school head actually stood up and boasted that they had the lowest number of special needs children in the area. My kids never considered that 'excellent' school as they were the wrong sex. Both mine were SEN (one high IQ and severe dyslexia the other medical issues). After hearing that story, I always read the whole report. I managed to send information about how to develop a 'dyslexia friendly classroom' to the Ofsted panel when my dyslexic child wasn't supported. I found they had followed up on this and made recommendations which the school began to implement (too late for us unfortunately). Still, based on my experience I'd go for a 'satisfactory' school that supported all its pupils rather than an 'excellent' one that only ticked the 'right' boxes for Ofsted. One word does not reveal the quality of the child's experience at a school. SEN kids and loads of others who begin without any English may bring down exam scores but a school that welcomes them and demonstrates inclusiveness and humanity is, imho, a far better place to learn - this is what my disabled son experienced and he is now an adult with very good values.

It's shocking that any school head would think that taking no SEN children was a good thing, surely heads should be embarrassed to say this. However I also know that many middle class parents would rather move house than send their children to a school with a high number of children for whom English is a second language.
If a school can welcome SEN children and those with less good English into a caring environment and teach all the children in their care well, I agree with you that it is a far better place to learn. In the case of our school they also still have a Good Ofsted rating which is impressive.