Ofsted has enlisted the help of a national children鈥檚 charity and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) as it develops a new 鈥渃riterion鈥 for inclusion in the new inspection report cards. Sir Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector, announced this week that inspections from next September will have an increased focus on how schools support disadvantaged pupils. The National Children鈥檚 Bureau (NCB) has been a 拢90,000 seven-month contract to 鈥渃onceptualise vulnerability and inclusion for Ofsted鈥. Schools Week understands it will help Ofsted understand the evidence for how best to support vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils. The EEF is also involved in that work, it is understood. Ofsted said the research would 鈥渉elp us develop an evidence-led conceptualisation of vulnerability and inclusion that we can apply to our inspection and regulatory work鈥. Leaders this week welcomed the focus on inclusion, but warned against creating 鈥減erverse incentives鈥 for schools. The inspectorate has provided little detail so far on what metrics it will use to judge inclusion, but it will 鈥渆valuate whether schools are providing high-quality support for disadvantaged and vulnerable children鈥. Oliver told Schools Week assessing inclusion could involve looking at how well schools used pupil premium funding, and warned he would 鈥済rade down鈥 schools that refused to take children with SEND or off-rolled them. The watchdog will consult on the new criterion in January. Data problems Jonny Uttley, the chief executive of The Education Alliance, said it was a 鈥渨elcome step forward鈥 but 鈥渢he concern at the moment 鈥 would be that we must make sure that we don鈥檛 introduce a load of new perverse incentives and we place data in its real context鈥. Gary Aubin, a SEND consultant, said there was a “real danger of perverse incentives, for example schools to stay exactly at national averages for SEND support levels irrespective of their cohort, or for heads to ask SENCOs to become 鈥楨HCP machines鈥 rather than achieve balance in their role.鈥 The government hit a wall with this when, under SEND reforms, it pledged to publish contextual information alongside performance data to 鈥渕ake it easier to recognise schools鈥 that were 鈥渄oing well for children with SEND鈥. Uttley But the proposals had 鈥渕ixed feedback鈥, with similar concerns it could 鈥渞isk generating perverse incentives鈥. It was then dropped. Basic data on how many EHCP pupils a school has is also problematic. A low number could mean a school offers effective, early support and a statutory plan isn鈥檛 needed. FFT Education Datalab previously created an inclusion measure, which compared EHCPs and disadvantaged pupils to the local area, how much mobility there was in year 9 and 10 compared with similar schools, and absence for vulnerable pupils. Dave Thomson, chief statistician, said: 鈥淢aybe the best that Ofsted can do is create a set of measures, but use it to ask questions rather than arrive at definitive statements about inclusion.鈥 Reviews to 鈥榗all out鈥 schools put pupils off To 鈥渃omplement鈥 the focus on inclusion, the watchdog will also carry out annual safeguarding, attendance and off-rolling reviews to 鈥渃all out schools that illegally or unethically put children off a school before they even apply鈥. Aubin suggested Ofsted look at a school鈥檚 responses to EHCP consultations by local authorities, with inspectors asking parents for their views. Nick Harrison, the chief executive of the Sutton Trust, said schools should be assessed on whether they adequately reflected their local communities, and 鈥渂e held accountable for their admissions鈥 codes and how those policies impact on the socio-economic mix of their pupils鈥. Time pressures may be 鈥榗hallenging鈥 The inspectorate will also not 鈥減enalise schools that use suspensions and exclusions legitimately鈥 and 鈥渇ocus on whether behaviour policies and practice are appropriate鈥. But Tom Richmond, a director at the EDSK think tank, said time pressure meant that a deep dive into the effectiveness of every school鈥檚 support mechanisms would be 鈥減articularly challenging鈥 for inspectors. Ofsted pledged to recruit more inspectors from the alternative provision and special school sectors and improve training through the new 鈥淥fsted Academy鈥. It is also considering if special schools need distinct 鈥渞ubrics鈥, a set of criteria inspectors use to assess the provision in mainstream schools. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission are also reviewing the current area SEND inspection framework, launched in January 2023. Monitoring inspections will be halted while the review is taking place.