Dr Victoria Cook, Education and Research Project Specialist, Chartered College of Teaching

In response to the findings of the ‘Big Listen’, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has unveiled a raft of changes that are designed to reduce the pressure of inspection on staff. Alongside changes to inspector recruitment and training, Ofsted has also stated that they want to work collaboratively with those they regulate and inspect, changing the way they inspect to engage in professional dialogue with leaders. Findings from recent research conducted at the Chartered College of Teaching suggest these commitments are timely.

The negative impacts of inspection

In a survey of Chartered College members across a range of settings and roles that received well over 2,000 responses, a number of clear themes emerged. Responses to an open question about members’ views on Ofsted reform showed a significant level of negativity surrounding the current high pressure, high-stakes system. ‘Stress’, ‘fear’ and ‘anxiety’ were the words most commonly used by respondents to describe the negative impact of the current system on staff wellbeing, which was also described by some as ‘toxic’ and ‘shaming’.

Respondents also described how the current system negatively impacts school improvement, with the result that schools are too fearful to innovate despite recognising that innovation is the key to growth.

This negativity associated with the current system was viewed by many as a significant cause of the current recruitment and retention crisis.

A paradigm shift

Unsurprisingly, then, respondents overwhelmingly called for a fundamental paradigm shift, replacing the current punitive and judgemental system with one that is collaborative and supportive. As one member put it:

Reform should focus on an approach where schools are supported, not judged. There is a systemic issue that needs addressing so that schools and headteachers are not fearful but can see a system that supports school leaders and staff to make the school the best it can be for the children.

Having an inspection system that is built on professional dialogue and that genuinely supports schools to improve is vital if we are to rebuild the trust and respect that Ofsted themselves recognise has been eroded in the system:

It needs to move from being a ‘test and fail’ system with a punitive approach to a supportive, progressive and forward thinking system that allows for accountability, innovation, creativity and trust in our skilled workforce.

However, importantly, by no means all of our members described the inspection process negatively. The fact that some described more positive experiences points towards another important theme to emerge from our research: the lack of consistency across inspections. The current system was also frequently described as failing to take into account the complexities of individual schools and their unique contexts.

Time for change

Change is clearly on the horizon. The removal of single word judgements announced this week will undoubtedly be welcomed by the very many of our members who felt that these masked huge variations between schools, but the extent to which report cards can provide the nuance called for remains to be seen. Amongst the commitments in response to The Big Listen, the launch of the Ofsted Academy this autumn is also intended to address issues around consistency of inspections, whilst consultation for the new inspection framework for schools, early years and further education will begin in early 2025.

It is imperative that this consultation brings together the expertise of a wide range of education professionals, who can bring creative solutions and constructive challenge to the accountability system, whilst also adopting an evidence-informed approach to reform:

We can draw on fields like assessment theory to ask whether Ofsted is currently enabling the public to draw valid and reliable inferences about school quality and on behavioural psychology to examine how the inspectorate inevitably drives the behaviour of school leaders (intentionally or otherwise) and how it could do so with more desirable outcomes.

Of course, reforming the accountability system will take time, as will rebuilding trust and respect. But bringing professional expertise and evidence together will be absolutely critical for both.