One-word Ofsted school ratings scrapped

Government’s immediate overhaul throws report system into limbo following union pressure

Ofsted’s one-word ratings of state schools are to be scrapped from Monday.
Parents will no longer be told whether a school is outstanding, good, requiring improvement or inadequate overall by inspectors.
The system will be replaced by school “report cards” from September next year, although the change has been introduced so swiftly that their exact form has yet to be decided.
The move follows lobbying by teaching unions, who claimed the single-word gradings were “simplistic, reductive, unreliable and inhumane” and demanded their abolition.
Tories, however, accused the Government of bowing to unions again following the awarding of above-inflation public sector pay rises.
They said the headline grading was “a vital indicator” for parents and argued that its removal would mean schools would be less accountable, leading to a weakening in educational standards.
The changes follow the death of Ruth Perry, the head teacher who took her own life in January last year after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her school in Reading from “outstanding” to “inadequate”. 
An inquest found the Ofsted process had contributed to her suicide.
The move is among reforms being planned by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, who is overseeing a review of the national curriculum.
Ms Phillipson, who has met Ms Perry’s family, said: “Single headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools. Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing – that’s what our report cards will provide.”
The inspection system will, however, be in limbo for a year before the report cards are introduced. Ofsted will operate a hybrid system during this time.
For the next year, there will be no overall headline grading for state schools. Instead, they will get four separate gradings, from outstanding to inadequate, based on each of the four existing sub-categories covering quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.
It is understood the “at a glance” report cards – likely to be no more than an A4 sheet – will incorporate the areas covered by the gradings but extend to other aspects of schools’ performance, including their provision for children with special educational needs.
The Telegraph understands the Government is also exploring plans for pupil absence to be assessed as part of Ofsted inspections. It means a school’s truancy levels could be highlighted on the report cards.
There are major concerns over soaring pupil absence levels in the wake of the pandemic. Almost 21 per cent of all pupils in England were persistently absent in the latest academic year, meaning they missed at least 10 per cent of classes.
Private schools will continue with single-word gradings for the time being, although the reform is expected to be extended to them at some point.  
Failing schools identified as being of “serious concern” will still face Government intervention where head teachers and their management teams are replaced or forced into academy status.
Those judged at risk of failing will be given support from high-performing schools in a shift from the Tories’ approach, which saw better schools take over failing ones.
The Government is also to introduce annual reviews of school safeguarding as part of its Ofsted changes in order to avoid potentially long gaps between inspections. Ofsted will outline how it will implement the new regime, including safeguarding pupils and training inspectors, this week.
The current rating system has operated for two decades since it was introduced under Tony Blair. Schools often use the single word “outstanding” in their signage and marketing to attract parents.
After the death of Ms Perry, the Commons education committee called for an end to single-word gradings – but this was rejected by Tory ministers, who argued that there were still “significant benefits”. Ofsted introduced a revised complaints procedure, and £1.5 million was set aside for well-being support.
Damian Hinds, the shadow education secretary, said: “The headline inspection outcome is a vital indicator for parents. While we do believe the system could be further improved, scrapping the headline inspection outcome is not in the best interest of pupils or parents.”
Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation, to be published on Tuesday, will, however, show that only 29 per cent of teachers and 38 per cent of parents support single-word judgments for overall effectiveness.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, welcomed the “swift” abolition of the single gradings.
He said: “The current inspection model not only produces simplistic, reductive and unreliable judgments that are of little or no use to schools, or parents, it does real harm to the health and well-being of leaders and their teams and undermines both recruitment and retention.”
Ms Phillipson is overseeing a review of the national curriculum, which will scrutinise all aspects of teaching material for pupils aged five to 18, the Department for Education said in July.
All state schools will be required to teach the updated curriculum once the review is completed next year. It will include academies, which do not currently have to follow the national curriculum. Teaching unions have urged the Government to scrap compulsory times tables tests and “strip back” grammar exams.
Ms Phillipson also said the number of pupils frequently missing school had become an “absence epidemic”. 
Writing in The Sunday Times ahead of pupils’ return to the classroom on Monday, she said: “Where the previous government tinkered around the edges of a generational challenge, I will act decisively to put this right.”
However, The Telegraph understands there will be no government action on truancy ahead of the Budget at the end of October. Senior education sources said ministers’ initial focus on tackling absence would be a “tonal” emphasis on the importance of children going to school. 
Labour has previously unveiled its long-term vision for tackling persistent absence, which it said will include rolling out free breakfast clubs to primary schools.