An organisation representing academy trusts has said it is “not convinced” single-phrase Ofsted judgments are “appropriate or optimal for stakeholders or regulators”. In to the Big Listen consultation, which closed last week, the Confederation of School Trusts called for “review and potential reform” of judgments by Ofsted. The CST also warned the watchdog that the implementation of inspections of trusts “should not be rushed”, adding there may be “merit” to proposals for a separate safeguarding judgment. Ofsted launched the consultation after a coroner ruled headteacher Perry died of 鈥渟uicide, contributed to by an鈥nspection carried out in November 2022鈥. The consultation has sought views on four 鈥減riorities鈥: how the body reports on findings, carries out inspections, the impact these checks have and the watchdog鈥檚 culture. Calls for ‘more sophisticated’ Ofsted approach In a summary of its evidence sent to members, CST said it was “not convinced that the current system of single-phrase judgements is appropriate or optimal for stakeholders or regulators, and we reiterate our previous calls for review and potential reform”. In the formal response, Steve Rollett, CST鈥檚 deputy CEO, reiterated his group鈥檚 stance that 鈥渟ome aspects of evaluation do not lend themselves to valid and reliable graded judgements鈥. 鈥淭he understanding that inspection is a snapshot in time and differing interpretations could be made risks being lost when we privilege 鈥榗lear judgment鈥 over all else.鈥 He added that Ofsted鈥檚 regulator role could require 鈥渟ome indicator from inspectors鈥 when they encountered those in need of greater 鈥渟upport or significant intervention鈥. Meanwhile, a 鈥渕ore sophisticated approach鈥 could encourage 鈥減arents to be curious about schools in their area, to build relationships with those schools, and to use the important but transient findings鈥n a cautiously informed way鈥. ‘Don’t rush’ move to MAT inspections Ofsted asked in its consultation whether it should have the power to inspect groups of schools, such as trusts or dioceses. Currently Ofsted only carries out “summary evaluations” of MATs, including batch visits to some of their schools, but does not directly inspect the central organisation. Steve Rollett In its evidence summary, the CST said it “acknowledged the case for inspection of school groups but believes this is more complex than some of the commentary about this topic often suggests”. “We believe this is challenging work for a number of reasons and should not be rushed.” Rollett said 鈥渕ovement towards trust inspection is inevitable and many within the sector are warm to the notion鈥. But CST is not convinced Ofsted has 鈥渢he workforce with the expertise and legitimacy to inspect groups, especially school trusts鈥. Recruiting inspectors 鈥渨ith experience of working in senior positions in school groups might be challenging鈥. Separate safeguarding judgment ‘may have merit’ In the summary of its evidence, CST said “there may be merit in the Big Listen鈥檚 suggestion of a separate safeguarding judgment” during inspections. But the “implementation of this is not straightforward. Assurance must be balanced with burden.” The group’s submission pointed out the watchdog “already does this through a written statement that indicates whether safeguarding is effective or not, so in some ways this would not be a huge change”. However, “there is a question about how stakeholders would make sense of, for example, a school that was judged ‘good’ for leadership and management and overall effectiveness but judged not to be effective at safeguarding”. It “seems most plausible that it would be a binary judgement that indicates to stakeholders whether safeguarding is deemed effective,” CST continued. “We are not specifically calling here for binary judgments but indicating that the current system of single-phrase judgements is not inevitable and as such should not be 鈥榦ff limits鈥 if sensible reform could be beneficial.” Focus on Ofsted’s ‘culture’ Rollett said Ofsted’s culture “should be a significant focus of inspection reform”. “In particular, we remain concerned about the conduct of a minority of inspectors who engage with leaders in a way that can be dismissive or insensitive.鈥 CST has 鈥渉eard from a number of leaders who tell us that at the end of day one inspectors have revealed that a particular issue could lead to an unfavourable judgement鈥. They described officials as appearing 鈥渦nduly sceptical and critical, indicating the possibility of a difficult outcome鈥 鈥 even though the problem is resolved on day two 鈥渕ore often than not鈥. The academy body thinks 鈥渢here may be more Ofsted can do鈥o avoid a culture of inspection which leans into an undue sense of jeopardy as a proxy for rigour鈥. Accountability pressures drive off-rolling CST also warned that it “seems to be the case that the pressures of the accountability system, which includes but is not limited to inspection, have played a role in the off-rolling of pupils in some instances”. This comes after leaders鈥 unions NAHT and ASCL reiterated their calls for the single-phrase judgments to be scrapped last Thursday. In their submission for the Big Listen, they argued Ofsted must embrace 鈥渇ar-reaching reform鈥 which 鈥渃annot come soon enough鈥.
Vw 4 June 2024 The biggest problem with Trusts is that they are not accountable to anyone. Parents have no rights of redress and they are destroying education through draconian policies and practices which in turn is fuelling the mental health crisis and persistent absence. Referred our Trust to my MP and it鈥檚 certainly opened a can of worms. Trusts don鈥檛 want Ofsted to inspect them because of the underhand practices that are rife such as offrolling, shocking treatment of kids with ESBA, unlawful managed moves, emotional abuse through toxic isolation practices, discrimination and the total lack of inclusion and tolerance.
Abe Cedar 8 June 2024 So the CST now say what LAs have been saying for decades. And 鈥極fsted lack the expertise to inspect MATs鈥 says the organisation representing MATs. I didn鈥檛 hear the CST complain about there being a lack of expertise for them to inspect LAs.