No more one word OFSTED gradings

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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, 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.

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

If you really want to choose the best school for your child you will read the full report - usually available on the school's website. I guess many parents don't research thoroughly so the one word evaluation gave them a quick judgement without having to apply too much effort. However very stressful for a head teacher facing a downgrade as you know most parents won't read the full report.
OFSTED inspections are stressful but I have memories of one at a school I used to work at where a couple of teachers were puzzled as to why all the other staff were running round like headless chickens the day before. They were totally calm, but as I said to them at the time "They could be calm because their lessons were always good." They didn't need to put on a show for the inspection. Sadly that isn't always the case for every teacher. I was a teaching assistant at the time, so I saw the varying quality of teachers all the time! We were an 'Outstanding' school but even in schools in special measures there may be outstandingly good teachers and 'Outstanding' schools can have weak teachers. Some departments are stronger than others and hopefully reading the full report will tell you what you really need to know.

Ofsted produce an in depth report, that you can access online, surely?
It must be across the board, or how else would people know that a school is good, bad, or anything in between.

Ofsted inspections so stressful and school preparations are endless. Glad the dreadful one word assessments are going. More support not judgement should be offered to schools who are not performing in certain areas.

MissAdventure

There was certainly more than one word when my boy's school had an Ofsted report.
There were lots of words; none of them good.

Great that you read the words, though obviously not great that the report was not good.
What struck me on the news tonight was that people were saying they needed more information, as if they simply accepted the one word headline.

I’ve just finished my last ofsted and thoroughly glad I’m not doing anymore.( retiring before the next due) I’m only a mere nursery practitioner but having gone through a few I would agree some of the above comments. It’s like waiting for to be hung! The pressure is enormous and the atmosphere leading up is intense. Yes we are all accountable but seeing the bigger picture and having that documented not just one word testaments I’d give it the heads up!

There was certainly more than one word when my boy's school had an Ofsted report.
There were lots of words; none of them good.

Chardy I accept your knowledge of advisers in multi academy trusts. So far my school and most the other local primaries have managed to resist being academised.

Mollygo

Schools have advisers even now, so I’m not sure what’s going to be new, but they’re unlikely to get back to the support given by HMI.
At my first OFSTED, when teachers were observed teaching a range of subjects, and got individual gradings, I got a good grade, but was told I needed to include even more activities. When I asked what she meant I was told that it wasn’t her job to explain that. 🤣🤣🤣

The quality of advisers in Multi Academy Trusts is in my limited experience nowhere near as good as County Advisers. Maybe Regional Advisers will be a euphemism for County Advisers?

Valdavi I agree that the one word judgements were damming and Ruth Perry’s case was tragic.
I was hoping to point out that one judgement in one area of a schools performance could condemn the whole school despite other areas being excellent.
I do hope that parents do read the OFSTED reports carefully before making their judgements.

J52 - that's like saying read manifestos very carefully.Many people don't.Otherwise you wouldn't need a one word summary anyway. Ruth Perry's case was tragic & I think if I'd been in her shoes I could've done the same. Thing is, safeguarding is important but in that case, it was also, once highlighted, just some basic admin adjustments to sort the problem & bring it back to outstanding again. By the time the next quota of children were in, that's what they would get. So why damn the school & it's Head?

OFSTED inspections are rather like the modern driving test, with ‘majors’ and ‘minors’. Fail in one of the ‘Major’ areas and you become Needing Improvement or Inadequate. In the past schools with some of the best exam results have found themselves in these categories.
It pays to read OFSTED reports very carefully.

Mollygo

Mamie. 👏👏

Listening to the news, tonight, I heard parents saying they want more information.

Perhaps removing the banner headline will mean they actually bother to read the information that’s been there in the report for them to read already. Or then again, maybe it won’t.

I can't speak for anyone else but DD read through everything she could access about both the schools he sons attended very carefully and so did I.

Schools have advisers even now, so I’m not sure what’s going to be new, but they’re unlikely to get back to the support given by HMI.
At my first OFSTED, when teachers were observed teaching a range of subjects, and got individual gradings, I got a good grade, but was told I needed to include even more activities. When I asked what she meant I was told that it wasn’t her job to explain that. 🤣🤣🤣