AIBU to not want ofstead abolished?

[Applepiesmum]

please bare with I don’t have a school aged child yet

however it’s the only criteria to assess schools against and as a parent the first thing I check when looking at a school if I should move to an area

i understand headteachers might be under pressure to perform but so are all public sector workers Doctors and nurses assessed and judged on performance by patients / students

am I the only person who is thinking like this

Ime parents want to find the best state school, if using state. via word of mouth, usually correlated to ofsted

They’ll pay for it in house price and move for the better school if they can. Results are then good

The problem was the outstanding schools weren't being inspected enough so standards slipping but parents still send their DC. Some outstanding schools haven't been inspected for years and it pushes house prices up as parents assume it must be a fantastic school.

My DCs school was graded good.on interim but they said if they want to have a big inspection they could be graded outstanding. School hasn't agreed to being inspected again so I'm not sure what's going on. They are attentive to my DC and that's all that matters. My DC will be intending the Ofsted rated good secondary as ofsted haven't inspected the outstanding school for years and it's apparently rife with bullying and no support..

You do realise that in a lot of cases the 'suits' that are inspecting are current HTs of other schools? Not all inspectors are HMI.

We ‘inspected’/assessed at least once a year if not 2 or 3 times a year by various different advisors and school improvement people. Their views are much more valid as they have actually spent proper periods of time with us and know how our school is.
There are many ways to hold a school accountable and to produce info for parents. Ofsted isn’t a good way.

Teacher here...
Ofsted pressure is ridiculous. It needs to change.

Making Ofsted ratings an annual or 6-monthly process would ensure wealthy parents think twice about buying themselves into a catchment area.

@Applepiesmum, I think you've misunderstood the recent media stories. Education staff don't want Ofsted abolished. What we want is a fairer system of constructive feedback, and where there are gaps, support to close them (if support is needed). Grades need to go too, as they really don't reflect much at all. I work at an outstanding school and send my child to a good school, as the latter was a much better fit for her.

Lol your spelling and grammar is bad! Did you go to an 'outstanding' school? The grade means nothing. It is outdated and ineffective.

@Forgottenpeeves it's bad form to call a poster out on spelling and grammar, not in the spirit of the site.

I don't want Ofsted abolished either. I don't want a school judged on a one or two word phrase. I think you can have standards and some form of inspection without the current system.

Why are there so many comments complaining about Ofsted and in the next sentence saying “I knew X school wasn’t great when I went to visit and sure enough the next Ofsted rating was RI or inadequate”.

either Ofsted picks up issues and is accurate in its finding or it doesn’t - you can’t have it both ways.

It’s not perfect but many would complain about other measures e.g. progress scores as maybe they have a small cohort or a particularly high SEN that might impact etc. There is no perfect system, there can be changes but whatever it is will be a quantitative assessment more than a qualitative one because inspectors can’t spend weeks in every school.

Ofsted is a blunt tool and like many of those, not very effective. No one is or has suggested that there should not be monitoring of standards in education, but what is needed is a framework that is a critical friend and supportive rather than destructive. School Improvement Officers and HMIs were much more objective and supportive than an organisation that has an agenda and sets out to prove it.

Reading a report is one part of the process of looking for a school for your child. Visiting the school or schools, gives a sense of the ‘feel’, whether it seems to be a happy place, a well run place, with good policies and procedures.

I agree with the need for parents to visit schools and get a feel for the place which is culture fit as much as anything but let’s be honest - pupils = funding. The HT/teaching staff are putting on a performance to parents just as much as anyone else but parents are not usually experts in education and have no idea what ‘good’ looks like, so to say gradings need to be removed isn’t entirely helpful.

Most people I know do this anyway. Not sure reading the report is that high up there. The grade counts though and might influence where to move when buying a house.

Agreed there should be some sort of inspection but some of the criteria that are being judged, are not as important as others. There should be some sort of weighting system.

It's the same as CQC. DM was in a needs improving home. But for care and compassion it was outstanding. They downgraded it on record keeping.

The manager left because she was so upset and the residents were devastated. They loved her.

I would be very suspicious of any head teacher saying they'll refuse entry. For a start off they should know that they can't

26 years a teacher and I’m applauding them. Ofsted drove me out.The subject l taught has gone from fantastic results every year to shit. All because ofsted loomed.

That would make a signficant difference.

I always think it is crazy to give notice. If you are going to inspect just do it! They also need to recognise that schools are financially struggling and lower the expectations until some money gets ploughed into them!

Ofsted don't make valid judgements, and is not of any value as a criteria used to judge a school.

The "pressure" they put staff under isn't to "perform" - it is to comply with the whims dreamed up at random this year, and dump all the paperwork and procedures put in place last year, and change everything all over again next year.

Examples - dump all text books, no text books must be seen in classes, o no, you have no resources, - reprimand

Don't accept lateness, prove you are punishing late comers, don't let them in - o no! This late comer isn't in a lesson - reprimand

Show flexibility to vulnerable families who need to take time off in term time- fine them all immediately

Allow hands up in class - I saw a hand go up in class- this is evil - reprimand

you are not using brain gym - reprimand ( brain gym is a load of pseudoscientific woo, that some ofsted inspectors, with no grasp of basic biology, expected to see demonstrated in schools)

Irlenes syndrome! Which doesn't exist! Its just a con set up by a company in America, yet I've known ofsted inspectors want to see differentiation for it!

Don't exclude or expel violent children, but if a child in your class is violent - reprimand!

Don't allow children to change year group away from their age group, no matter how much better it would be for the child

If you accept vulnerable students into the sixth form, and that affects your retention statistics! - reprimand

Don't encourage use of left handed scissors, if all scissors are right handed, reprimand- don't use left handed teachers!

Don't have ID on display, - have ID on display

Mark all gay students in your register, don't use the word "gay"

Show your planning in format A, no format B, no, format C, no, format D, no format E, no, format F, no format G, etc etc etc

Last thing I was reprimanded for by ofsted ( this was a couple of months ago) - a child handed in an exercise book with their full name on. Data breach.

A good ofsted rating means the management can change horse midstream and make all their staff change everything in an instant, and then pretend its been that way for years

Ofsted are not HMI

Teachers aren't saying schools shouldn't be inspected they are saying that there has to be a better way of doing it, that helps schools where they need to be helped...
They need to be inspected more often... schools that have been outstanding for years are definitely nothing like the ofsted reports say 🤷‍♀️

Your lack of knowledge and understanding means you are being unreasonable, yes.

So let me get this clear op. You want to keep a system where people are so demoralised that they kill themselves, because that works for you?

Ofsted is not a good reflection of reality. They don't do well with things that are hard to measure/things that don't/do tick their boxes.
Anything slightly ambiguous and I'll bet it falls apart.
Not fit for purpose and an absolute minefield.
However, I do understand your angst, because people want their children to feel safe and happy and achieve well at school.
It's not fit for purpose.