Ofsted Brings About Change in its Inspection Ideology

Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. It inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people, and services providing education and skills for learners of all ages. Lately Ofsted has planned to bring about changes in the way it inspects the schools in England. It has decided to reduce the impact of exam results in favour of a closer look at pupil behaviour and at the breadth of subjects being taught.

Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector for schools stated that as per the new inspection regime, the exam performance shall not be the basis of assessment in the Ofsted reports. She further stated that the importance that the system gives to the exam performance, imbibes a lot of pressure upon the students, teachers and even parents. She added that one of the most important aspect that should form the basis of assessment for schools should be the quality of education that is imparted by the schools. The schools must be judged and ranked on the basis of its standards of education on a scale running from outstanding to inadequate. Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of school and college leaders described this shift as a “breath of fresh air”. He further stated that although exams are an important aspect of the entire education system but there is need for a more balanced approach. The new quality section would focus on curriculum taught within a school and those schools would be rewarded that offer a vast range of subjects to the pupils. Ofsted has decided to challenge those schools that focus and utilise maximum amount of time upon preparation for tests than on teaching students and where the choices of students are narrowed. Another major change shall involve looking at behaviour and pupil attitudes in a single category, signalling a more critical view to how schools deal with classroom behaviour. The changes also received a measured endorsement from Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT union. He stated that teachers have always been concerned with Ofsted’s narrow focus on collecting data. NASUWT expects that these reforms shall help to solve the problem of excessive bureaucracy, which is diverting teachers from focusing on teaching and learning. The education secretary, Damian Hinds also requested the school leaders for helping in order to reform the oversight of multi academy trusts.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/oct/11/ofsted-to-ditch-using-exam-results-as-mark-of-success-amanda-spielman