Thousands of schools may be getting 鈥渉ighly unethical鈥 alerts tipping them off to imminent Ofsted inspections by a firm that has developed an algorithm to predict possible visits based on website monitoring. A Schools Week investigation has exposed what looks like a loophole in the Ofsted inspection system, which is built on the principle that schools should only be told about inspections at most the day before they happen. claims to have 鈥渄eveloped an algorithm to accurately tell when Ofsted are looking at your school website鈥. Inspectors look at key information documents from a school鈥檚 website between two and 14 days before inspections. The firm has automatically signed its more than 2,000 school clients up to the 鈥淥fsted alert emails鈥 system, which was rolled out last month. But when approached by Schools Week, some have since pulled out 鈥 calling it 鈥渉ighly unethical鈥. Ofsted has since said it will 鈥渓ook into鈥 our findings. 鈥楾his shows the high-stakes nature of Ofsted鈥 Ahead of inspections, Ofsted staff look up key information documents on school websites. Greenhouse鈥檚 algorithm looks for a 鈥減attern of behaviour typically associated with an Ofsted visit鈥, according to an FAQ document seen by Schools Week. It then alerts leaders to a 鈥減ossible Ofsted visitor鈥, before processing logs overnight and emailing again the following day detailing 鈥渁ny documents they viewed鈥. Details from an FAQs document sent to schools Greenhouse acknowledged schools receiving alerts would not 鈥渘ecessarily鈥 receive an inspection, adding: 鈥淲e know that Ofsted undertake regular desktop research.鈥 However, the company also published what it claimed was an email from a school leader saying of the system: 鈥淚t works! I received your texts throughout last week and we have an Ofsted today and tomorrow. The system was brilliant 鈥 can鈥檛 thank you enough.鈥 Julie McCulloch Julie McCulloch, director of policy at school leaders鈥 union ASCL, said the technology 鈥渕ay provide some schools with a more precise advance warning of an impending inspection鈥. But 鈥渨hile this may be helpful to those schools, the risk is that it undermines the consistency which is an important part of a fair and equitable inspection system鈥. She also warned the 鈥渇act that there is perceived to be an appetite for this technology in the first place is a reflection of the incredibly high-stakes nature of Ofsted inspection鈥. ‘It amounts to gaming the system鈥 Former senior inspector Colin Richards said such tracking, if it worked, 鈥渨ould amount to gaming the system. It would also give those 鈥榓lerted鈥 schools an unfair advantage in inspection preparation compared with other schools.鈥 Greenhouses email to schools The company told Schools Week it started developing the system in the autumn 鈥渋n response to demand from schools鈥. It was deployed on a 鈥渟election of sites鈥 at the start of this year, soft-launched in February and has been 鈥渞efined鈥 since then. Feedback was 鈥渙verwhelmingly positive鈥, prompting the company to 鈥渟pread the word to all of our schools鈥 on Monday. Director Graham Miles said schools had asked the firm 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 schools鈥 own 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 Leaders opt out of 鈥榰nethical鈥 alerts The service is provided at no extra cost, and schools can opt out if they choose. The company told Schools Week on Monday that no school had, but several said they had done so when approached by this newspaper. Jackie Rose, interim head of St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy in Dewsbury, told Schools Week she 鈥渄id not realise we had opted into this system and have now sent them an email to 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 ‘Ofsted ready鈥.鈥 Greenhouse鈥檚 clients include several large academy trusts, including the David Ross Education Trust and the Bath and Wells Multi-Academy Trust. Other high-profile customers include the Chiltern Learning Trust, West London Free School and Brampton Manor Academy. All were approached for comment. A spokesperson for DRET said: 鈥淲e understand that this unsolicited alerts system was switched on just a month ago. We have not received any information that has informed Ofsted inspections and have opted out of the service.鈥 The Chiltern Learning Trust said it was 鈥渙nly made aware of the new feature and how to opt out of email alerts recently鈥 and had 鈥渢aken the decision to opt out across the trust鈥. 鈥楢gainst the spirit of the system鈥 Mark Lehain, a former DfE special adviser who is now head of education at the Centre for Policy Studies, questioned the impact of a 鈥渨eek or so鈥檚 extra notice鈥 on a school鈥檚 judgment. Sir David Carter He added there was an 鈥渆thical dimension to this – having this kind of possible insight for a fee when others don’t feels very much against the spirit of the system鈥. Sir David Carter, the former national schools commissioner, said he didn鈥檛 鈥渞eally know how this helps schools鈥, adding it could 鈥渋ncrease stress鈥ecause people suddenly start to panic thinking that this is now looming鈥. 鈥淚 remember the days when I started being a head in the late 1990s, where you had about six weeks notice, and that drove the pressure through the roof. Every single day, and every decision you made was about counting down to the 鈥榖ig day鈥. 鈥淭here is something to be said for having very little notice and seeing the school as it is that day.鈥 An Ofsted spokesperson said the watchdog was 鈥渘ot aware of this particular system鈥, adding they would 鈥渓ook into it鈥.
22 March 2023 Until Ofsted grading is reformed, school inspections’ high-stakes (gaming element) will never disappear. As a result, in a period where artificial intelligence will change the world, it is no surprise that organisations like Greenhouse are popping up. It’s a fantastic (temporary) solution to support school leaders in reducing their stress. The gaming side of it all? Well, see my point above… I suspect Greenhouse will be super popular and disruptive. It’s also worth noting that SchoolDash has been something doing this for years, and NOBODY seems to have noticed.
Sandy Cameron 23 March 2023 Alas, it’s not only the government that needs to give up on Ofsted. Since most schools get a ‘good’ or better, headteachers are more than willing to celebrate their “success” and set visions for their school to move from good to outstanding. In fact, job adverts, development/improvement plans and publicity material are invariably written with inspection triumph as one of the key performance indicators. Curiously, the strap lines and vision statements on websites and in prospectuses rarely refer to Ofsted itself. This shows that most schools do actually know what makes a good school…and inspection success isn’t it. If schools can give up the drug, learning to live with inspection rather than being dominated by it, they might have a better argument that it isn’t necessary for government either. If only all schools would follow the example reported by the BBC today.
School2023 20 September 2023 This isn’t news. Schools have been monitoring the activity around inspection season for years. It isn’t difficult to do and doesn’t require any kind of fancy tracking system. It just takes the school’s IT team to look at activity on the policies page.