At the 2023 Autumn Liberal Democrat conference, we changed our position on school accountability in England away from the “abolish OFSTED” line, to a more pragmatic viewpoint of reforming our system of school accountability. I have taken the time to set out what reform should actually look like.
2023 was, I think it is fair to say, a fairly tumultuous year for the schools inspectorate, OFSTED. From the tragic death of Ruth Perry to increasing disquiet about the blunt-tool of single gradings.
However, whilst disquiet has been on the rise, 2023 has also seen an increase in high-quality research about what the future of school inspection should look like. From the IPPR’s review led by Loic Menzies, to Sam Freedman and the Institute for Government’s report. Another notable report was that of Public First, the consultancy firm who undertook a highly rigorous consultation on the future of school accountability.
All of these reports chimed into what appears to be a general theme and feeling now, that more of the same is not an option. Nevertheless, where opponents of OFSTED have traditionally been limited in their success is that the phraseology of “abolish” leaves the receiver of the message of the opinion that school accountability and improvement is not a priority.
The same criticism cannot be levelled at the work undertaken by Menzies and Freedman which both provide comprehensive analysis of the problems with school inspection whilst crucially providing recommendations for reforms that are rooted in pragmatism. Whilst the phrasing “reforms rooted in pragmatism” may not set the world alight, they do understand what is, to most people’s minds what is needed.
We should start, by recognising the problems that do exist within the schools inspectorate at the moment.
These chiefly fall around three categories, workload leading up to inspections, the manner of inspections (inclusive of outcome from) and the subsequent support needed by each school to improve. However, where these issues come together is the overarching question “what is the purpose of school accountability”?
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