Ofsted stands accused of being 鈥渃omplicit in gaming its own inspection system鈥 after admitting it was aware of schemes that give schools advance notice of visits. But it refuses to say if it has ever taken any action. A Schools Week investigation has uncovered evidence that schools have been able to predict inspections for at least a decade by monitoring web traffic. It exposes a loophole in a system that is built on the principle that schools should only be told about inspections at most the day before they happen. Robin Walker, the former schools minister and chair of the education committee, said such monitoring 鈥渞isks creating a two-tier system that dodges the need for constructive scrutiny of how schools are run鈥. Ofsted activity tracked online We revealed this week how a website company developed an algorithm to track Ofsted activity online, a move described as 鈥渉ighly unethical鈥. But the use of such practices is widespread and an open secret in schools. Walker said inspections were 鈥渋ntended to create a level playing field between schools, regardless of their location or type鈥. Robin Walker MP 鈥淯se of this technology clearly undermines that principle and is therefore not in the interests of children or the schools themselves.鈥 Ofsted this week admitted it was 鈥渁ware of these types of systems and companies鈥. But it refused to say how long for, or whether it had ever taken any action. Colin Richards, a former senior inspector, warned that 鈥渋n saying nothing in public or doing nothing to prevent it in practice means it has been condoning ethical malpractice and has been complicit in gaming its own inspection system 鈥 and maybe still is鈥. Former Ofsted inspector and senior manager Frank Norris said he was 鈥渦naware of this practice but I’m not surprised to see schools trying to poach a few more days鈥. 鈥淭he stakes have been raised to such a point that schools are concentrating too much on Ofsted readiness rather than just getting on with teaching.鈥 He added that 鈥渋f Ofsted did know about it I suppose they are powerless to stop the practice鈥. 鈥淏ringing attention to it would probably have encouraged others to adopt the practice.鈥 Revealed: ‘Unethical’ Ofsted ‘alerts’ tip off schools about inspections 鈥業t shows high-stakes nature of inspections鈥 Ofsted staff look up key information documents on school websites up to two weeks before inspections. new algorithm, which alerts leaders to a 鈥減attern of behaviour typically associated with an Ofsted visit”, was recently rolled out to more than 2,000 schools. The company acknowledged schools receiving its alerts would not 鈥渘ecessarily鈥 receive an inspection, adding: 鈥淲e know that Ofsted undertakes regular desktop research.鈥 However, it also published what it claimed was an email from Prestbury St Mary鈥檚 Federation in Cheltenham, saying of the system: 鈥淚t works! I received your texts throughout last week and we have an Ofsted today and tomorrow.鈥 The federation鈥檚 infant school was inspected in early February, its first visit for 14 years. The school was downgraded from 鈥榦utstanding鈥, but remained 鈥榞ood鈥 in all areas. It declined to comment. Julie McCulloch Julie McCulloch, the director of policy at the school leaders鈥 union ASCL, said the 鈥渇act that there is perceived to be an appetite for this technology 鈥 is a reflection of the incredibly high-stakes nature of Ofsted inspection鈥. Graham Miles of Greenhouse said schools had asked the company to 鈥渉elp make sense of website analytics to understand whether their website鈥檚 compliance is being checked or monitored鈥. The email alert is 鈥渋ntended to be a helpful guide if schools wish to use it鈥, but 鈥渙f course, the system will also highlight any user that follows these patterns of behaviour鈥, including school staff. 鈥淲e know that good school leadership, governance and management practices will, however, always be the only way schools can be prepared for an Ofsted inspection.鈥 Schools opt out of alerts The service is provided at no extra cost, and schools can opt out. The company told Schools Week on Monday that no school had, but several told us they had. Jackie Rose, the interim head of St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy in Dewsbury, said she did not realise the schools had opted in. It had now sent an email 鈥渢o say we do not want to be any part of an early warning system鈥. 鈥淚 think this is highly unethical and we would hope that we are always 鈥極fsted ready鈥.鈥 Greenhouse鈥檚 clients include several prominent academy trusts, including the David Ross Education Trust (DRET), the Bath and Wells Multi-Academy Trust (BWMAT)and Chiltern Learning Trust. DRET said it had 鈥渘ot received any information that has informed Ofsted inspections and has opted out of the service鈥. BWMAT said it was 鈥渘ot aware that we had been opted into this system鈥 and had also withdrawn. Chiltern also said it only found out about the system 鈥渞ecently鈥 and had opted-out. Mark Lehain, a former DfE special adviser who is now head of education at the Centre for Policy Studies, said there was an 鈥渆thical dimension to this 鈥 having this kind of possible insight for a fee, when others don鈥檛, feels very much against the spirit of the system鈥. Practice is widespread But a senior leader school leader said the practice was widespread. 鈥淚n all the schools I’ve worked with, the IT team monitors hits on pages of the school website when the school is in the Ofsted window,鈥 they said. They 鈥渄idn’t see it as unethical at all. Any headteacher would surely use any means at their disposal to prepare for Ofsted as effectively as possible. It’s not an exact science, however, and I know of several ‘false alarms’.鈥 Multiple sources said Cleverbox offered a similar service. However, the company denied this when approached by Schools Week. However, schools “have access to their own Google Analytics dashboard which they could, in principle, use to monitor document downloads”, the company said. Its flagship client is the Harris Federation, one of England鈥檚 largest academy trusts. Other customers include the Inspiration Trust and The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT). Harris did not respond to questions about whether they had used such a service. Inspiration said they did not. TKAT said the company 鈥渉as not offered us, and we have not asked Cleverbox to provide a service that gives alerts about possible Ofsted inspections鈥. Schools set up their own systems But leaders don鈥檛 need to pay a website provider. Discussions on school IT professionals forum Edugeek about setting up an 鈥淥fsted early warning鈥 system date back as far as 2015. Posts suggest schools could monitor for visits by using Ofsted鈥檚 internet service provider. In 2016, a user even shared a PDF guide to 鈥淯sing Google Analytics to track Ofsted page views on your school website鈥. A PDF guide from 2013 shared online By creating a 鈥渃ustom report鈥, the explainer told users they could monitor views by service provider and search for 鈥淥fsted鈥. The school was approached for comment. In 2017, forum users also reported receiving hits with service providers listed as 鈥渓ogica ofsted ngdc鈥 and 鈥渓ogica ofsted aviaton hse鈥. A screenshot from a schools analytics showing hits from Ofsted shared on Edugeek This facility has since been removed from Google Analytics, with schools now focusing on detecting multiple downloads at the same time. ‘Look for traffic to key pages’ One post advised users to 鈥渓ook for traffic to key pages, eg policies, as these will be checked by Ofsted. They will normally be the lowest traffic pages so easier to spot the sudden increase…鈥 While some saw an immediate result, others warned of a 鈥渞ed herring鈥 after traffic spikes were not followed by an inspection. Edugeek forum Edugeek forum One user said: “I’m not saying it’s ironclad proof 鈥 but I am saying it can’t hurt to check if you know you are due an inspection. If anything it will make sure you are semi-ready should you get the call.鈥 Greenhouse鈥檚 new service has also been discussed on the forum this month. One user said their Ofsted early warning system 鈥渨as bang on the money鈥, giving two hours’ extra notice. Asked if this was enough, they said 鈥渙ur headteacher and SLT appreciated the heads-up, especially on this day where our head was absent so our deputy was more prepared to take the call.鈥
Emanuel C 25 March 2023 As a former Edugeek regular I can say that our school would definitely have made use of this technique. If Ofsted want to prevent it, perhaps they should do their homework earlier, over a longer period – these documents hardly change daily. There are other countermeasures they could use that are hinted at here which would eradicate it entirely. That it has been prevalent for nearly a decade and Ofsted haven’t deployed these very inexpensive techniques to prevent it suggests they don’t see it as hugely problematic. Those claiming it is unethical should examine how much time they devote to optimising their Ofsted outcomes rather than optimising their teaching and learning. Wasting that resource across an extended timespan is a scourge that is significantly less ethical than squeaking a day more notice about an inspection.