The move is designed to tackle the number of coasting schools that have remained stubbornly ‘satisfactory’ over a number of inspections. The proposals mean that any school not providing a good standard of education will be given a new ‘requires improvement’ grade.
No schools will be allowed to remain in the category of ‘requires improvement’ for more than three years. Under the proposals, schools judged in this new category would be subject to earlier re-inspection, within 12-18 months, rather than up to three years as at the moment. Schools will be given up to two more inspections within a three year period to demonstrate improvement and any school failing to do so will then require special measures.
This is the second shake-up of the school inspection system to be announced in less than two weeks since Sir Michael took up his post as Chief Inspector in January. Last week Ofsted announced plans for new ‘no-notice’ inspections for schools.
Speaking in advance of the meeting at No 10, Sir Michael, said, “We all know that parents want to send their child to a good school and fortunately, thanks to the hard work of teachers and school leaders around the country, many of them do. However, around a third of schools failed to meet this level at their last inspection.
“There are too many coasting schools not providing an acceptable standard of education. Of particular concern are the 3,000 schools educating a million children that have been “satisfactory” two inspections in a row. This is not good enough.
“I make no apology for making even greater demands of an education system which has to respond with greater urgency to increasingly difficult and competitive economic circumstances.”
There are nearly 700 schools in England serving the most deprived 20% of students that were satisfactory at their previous inspection but are now good or outstanding. But, this is not simply a problem of deprivation. Some 300 stubbornly satisfactory schools currently serve the most affluent 20% of society.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who hosted the ‘coasting schools’ summit, spoke of the proposed changes, “This is not some small bureaucratic change. It marks a massive shift in attitude. I don't want the word 'satisfactory' to exist in our education system. 'Just good enough' is frankly not good enough.
"To those who say that this will alienate some schools, I say we've got to stop making excuses and start doing what is best for our children: demanding excellence and confronting complacency wherever we find it."
Responding to the announcement, Association of School and College Leaders General Secretary Brian Lightman commented, “ASCL has been critical of the misuse of the word satisfactory in Ofsted inspections for a long time so we agree in principle that the term needs to be replaced with something which more accurately reflects Ofsted’s views.
“It will be most important that any school in receipt of the ‘required improvement’ grade will be given the support and resources to bring about this improvement. It is also reasonable to expect improvement to take place within a three-year period. We have serious concerns that no notice inspections will undermine this process.
“ASCL agrees with the Chief Inspector that children have only one chance to receive an excellent education. We therefore urge Ofsted to consult closely with the profession in order to ensure that the inspection service works with school leaders to achieve that aim.”
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