'Outstanding' ofsted gradings are getting rediculous.

[4point2fleet]

Honestly, some school's 'outstanding' grades are now so out of date it is becoming laughable.

A thing popped up on my newsfeed about 'England's worst primary schools' (not meeting floor standards). I scrolled through and a school in Esher was on there. I thought this odd as it is in such an affluent area, so I googled.

Front page of website says this:

Our most recent Ofsted inspection concluded:
‘This is an outstanding school. Pupils make outstanding progress and, as a result, standards are exceptionally high by the end of Years 2 and 6. Pupils benefit from an exciting, innovative curriculum and outstanding teaching’.

Most recent Ofsted was 2007.

In reality, 17/18 writing progress score was -7.9. No single child made Greater Depth in all 3 areas. Only 54% met expectations in all 3 areas, compared to 64% nationally.

So which is it?? Outstanding or one of the worst in England? How many of the 'worst' schools are on 'outstanding' gradings?

Outstanding schools are exempt from routine inspection. The government made that law, not Ofsted. They can only go in under a section 8 inspection and they have to have a very good reason to do that. Once in, they can convert it to a section 5 if they think it’s no longer outstanding and then the grades can change. The new head of Ofsted is trying to get the law changed.

I agree. I have emailed Ofsted about this. If everyone reading this thread did the same they might do something about it.

Rudolph. Your last comment came across as very smug and nothing but gossip mongering

Well that's me told. I'll be sure to run future comments by you first, make sure they pass muster.

Good idea 😆

That wasn’t smug. Probably an accurate assessment. Ofsted does know it has “outstanding” schools it needs to visit.

Ofsted have a huge amount of data before they get near a school. The inspection is done to confirm their original conclusions from the data but they need more information from a visit before writing the report. There is nothing a school can do to pull the wool over the eyes of an inspection team. Getting rid of a child or two, even if you could arrange this with the no notice system, would not cover up poor progress and poor teaching over time. It certainly wouldn’t cover up poor Sen practices. Anyone who thinks this is very mistaken.

Ofsted need to do more inspections. Schools also need to evaluate their own work - accurately. Many don’t. They still think they are good or even better. Governors don’t get robust information and schools coast. Any decent school will know where it needs to improve and be making strides towards that end. If a school has evaluated accurately, taken steps that are showing results, they may well be good but not yet outstanding. They should remove outstanding from their web site. Just say what the school does without including any out of date judgement.

Rudolph you may be interested in the opinion of OFSTEDs national director of "private" inspections https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2018/12/18/the-myth-of-ofsted-consultants-do-not-buy-the-snake-oil/

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/752721/HMCIPACletter311018.pdf
"Ofsted’s main role is to provide independent objective scrutiny of the providers we inspect. Alongside MATs, I am concerned that there are other areas of our education system that lack that oversight.
The most obvious of these are outstanding primary and secondary schools. Since 2011, outstanding schools have been exempt from routine inspection. As a result, some schools have not been inspected in over a decade. This is unpopular with parents and even with teachers.3 Eighty five per cent of teachers agree that exemption should not be indefinite. More importantly, it leaves us with real blind spots as to the quality of education and safeguarding in these schools. While some issues with outstanding schools will be caught in performance data, allowing us to trigger an inspection, others, such as curriculum narrowing, gaming and poor safeguarding practices, may not.
The outstanding grade should be a symbol that a school is a beacon of excellence. If we are to maintain its reputation, the exemption from inspection for outstanding schools must be removed and Ofsted fully resourced to inspect those schools."

No thanks, I'm very happy with my kids' school, as as are they. Ofsted could put it in special measures and I'd still be happy, it's just a lovely, nurturing environment.

You may be happy with the school but it's interesting to know they waste money on snake oil

I can't think of anything to say that - it's nearly Christmas and I want to eat mince pies.

Rudolph: You probably would not stay happy with the school if it was plumetting towards RI or worse and you would notice! Frequent changes in staff, children making slow progress, the curriculum would narrow, fewer after school activities on offer and poor leadership are all hallmarks of failing schools. The ethos gets lost along the way too. Not that I agree with nurturing in y6! It’s a bit late if you don’t know your tables and cannot read.

I'm out; not sure why I've become the whipping boy on this thread, and don't intend to stick around for more.

If a school became an academy following an Ofsted Outstanding inspection then there will be no further inspection. - There is a push for these to start happening - because, as you have all identified it is not only misleading to parents, but failing to identify schools which need to change.

Maybe because you are saying rather gushing things about your DCs school, Rudolph, which can change over time. Let’s hope you never have a moment’s concern about any aspect of your DCs education. I’m with you on the mince pies though!

I have just had a look at the primary data for a few local schools. One is judged “good” by Ofsted in 2017 but has 42% of children getting all three Sats passes. It’s “well below” for maths and writing and “below” for readung. I’m not sure how this school can be “good”. It’s in the bottom 10% in the country. The stats are illuminating!

The stats are really interesting and I am not sure how they inform the grade that Ofsted gives. DD's former primary school gets wonderful progress data but average attainment. Other schools nearby get average progress and good attainment. Yet DD's former school is rated good and the others outstanding. I genuinely don't get why this is. Surely progress is the most important of all the metrics? I would far rather send any child of mine to a school where progress is exceptionally good rather than a school where it is average.

Im not sure whether the data is accurate. Certainly for eyfs. As sutmrely there is an incentive to make out kids cant do anything when they start? Or just not notice it.
I think this also happens with reading when changing year groups.
The data needs to be independent as there is a conflict of interest.

The Ofsted framework has changed and a school with average progress would not be outstanding now. Ofsted look at all the data. They are alerted to schools who are “well below” on attainment and one would expect a visit, especially if progress is poor too.

If all schools were inspected every year, judgements would be accurate and reflect the current situation. As there are years between inspections, there are variations and inevitable inaccuracies. The attainment/progress data is way more reliable because it is every year!

We have a local school like this, outstanding in 2009 with results topping the borough. Now, with the entire staff changed and funding crisis/ no SLT except the head the results are near the lower end. The teaching is inconsistent (I tutor children from there) across classes, it’s generally near 50% supply staff with reception 60% taught by an LSA while the teacher acts up (how they get away with that one?). I honestly don’t know a school like it.
From what I’ve heard from Governors’ meeting the head knows they are screwed if Ofsted visits.

Yes. If Ofsted visit, and surely they will if results and progress have plumetted, they will possibly be RI. The Governors will be held to account. Why can they not get teachers? What is causing the high turnover? Instead of sitting back and watching this happen, what are they doing about it?

Schools do get three year budget projections. You have to plan. You can see funding cuts coming, especially if children are leaving and not being replaced. Schools can also federate and pool resources but governors seem loathe to do this.

Do all YR children need a teacher? When I was a governor that had a nursery/YR we had one teacher. Other staff were TAs (qualified nursery nurses) and that was 20 years ago. If YR children are not statutory school age, must they have a qualified teacher for the whole day?