‘What I believe has gone wrong with Ofsted’
4:30pm Tuesday 16th March 2010 in News
CONCERNED: John Porteous
Headteacher John Porteous gives his views of how Ofsted is affecting many schools
The new tougher Ofsted framework is tipping rapidly increasing numbers of schools into crisis.
Less than half as many are deemed outstanding under the new regime and the number of secondary schools in the lowest category — inadequate — has more than tripled.
Ofsted’s response that they are “raising the bar” will please many parents. No teacher or headteacher could argue with this ambition. Indeed we have spent our working lives trying to ensure that schools get better.
The problem with Ofsted is that all it can hope to achieve is a snapshot of a school at a given moment in time. There are many variable factors which influence staff and student performance. Just like investors in the money markets, examination boards should broadcast a similar warning: “Results may go down as well as up.” At the moment, there is a tightening-up on A level grades which may mean students will have to do better in order to achieve the same grade that their elder siblings achieved.
Conversely, some GCSE “equivalent” courses have been judged too easy so some results may be higher than they should be. The new Ofsted regime aims to overcome the “snapshot” problems by placing a huge importance on the “data”.
Some outstanding schools in deprived areas have been given “notice to improve”. Other secondary schools served by high-achieving feeder primaries have pupils who come in with such high scores that it is almost impossible for them to show good “added value” during the high school years.
We could argue that it doesn’t matter. Ok, what used to be outstanding is now just good, what was good is now satisfactory and what was satisfactory is now inadequate. But it does matter.
Our concern is with the framework and the impact that downgrading so many schools will have on the morale and confidence of the communities they serve.
As Chair of the North Bolton Excellence Cluster, I know at first hand of the incredible hard work, dedication and skill of staff in seven very different secondary schools and dozens of feeder primaries.
John Porteous,
Head teacher
Turton High School
