The Green Party of England and Wales has a long-standing policy to replace Ofsted and so we welcome the launch at the National Education Union Conference this week of a petition to do exactly that. Ofsted is the source of much stress for education workers and closely tied to high-stakes testing that distorts the curriculum and stifles creativity.
The NEU website has a variety of tools to spread the word about the campaign and we urge Green Party members and supporters to make full use of them. LINK
The petition says:
Teachers and leaders work under the shadow cast by Ofsted. An unfair and unreliable inspectorate.
As Ofsted approaches its 30-year anniversary, now is the right time to examine what effect its inspections have on the quality of education that teachers and leaders are able to provide and, in particular, for our most disadvantaged pupils.
In 2017, the National Audit Office concluded that: “Ofsted does not know whether its school inspections are having the intended impact: to raise the standards of education and improve the quality of children’s and young people’s lives.”
Ofsted has never published any research to prove that its inspections accurately reflect the quality of education schools provide. Comprehensive, independent analysis of Ofsted judgements show they discriminate against schools in deprived areas – awarding ‘outstanding’ grades to four times more secondary schools with better-off pupils than schools with students who are worse off. A major research study showed that, even when schools in deprived areas are making excellent value-added progress, they are still more likely to be given poor Ofsted judgements.
Teachers and leaders know that working in disadvantaged areas is likely to be harmful to their careers because of the unfairness of Ofsted judgements. It is harder to recruit and retain teachers in these schools. Poor children, who most need qualified and experienced teachers if they are to fulfil their potential, are least likely to get them.
School inspection must be fair. It should be supportive. It should not be, as too many Ofsted inspections are, punitive.
The stress and unsustainable workload generated by Ofsted is a major factor in the appalling teacher retention rates that blight English education. Nearly 40 per cent of teachers leave the profession within ten years. No education system can improve while it haemorrhages school leaders and teachers. We must create a new approach to school and college evaluation which is effective and fair.
We are calling on the Government to:
- Replace Ofsted with a school accountability system which is supportive, effective and fair.
- Work with teachers, leaders and other stakeholders to establish a commission to learn how school accountability is done in other high performing education nations.
- Develop an accountability system which commands the trust and confidence of education staff as well as parents and voters.
Sign the petition HERE