Ofsted admits some Outstanding schools aren’t actually that good.

[noblegiraffe]

Outstanding schools were decreed exempt from routine inspection in 2011. Over 1000 haven’t been inspected in the last 6 years and 290 haven’t been inspected in over a decade.

“Ofsted's director of corporate strategy, Luke Tryl, said: "What we can't tell is if the levels of education in those schools judged outstanding 10 years ago are the same or whether it has changed to become middling, or mediocre or coasting."
When asked by reporters if he was saying that some "outstanding schools aren't really outstanding", he replied: "Yes."”

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-44227869

Time to scrap the outstanding grade, if they’re not even going to police it properly.

It means nothing. I know of a good school where behaviour is atrocious.

Some schools aren't even outstanding on the day they're graded, let alone 6 years later. Ofsted is a joke.

They haven't got the man power. My outstanding school hasn't been done in 9 years

Ofsted are way behind on their inspection rounds.

Agreed, I know two 'outstanding' schools which very much make me go

So many coast along on their reputations.

THe outstanding schools around here haven't been visited in at least a decade ... and we know their standards/results/behaviour are down. It's a joke.

I think every 5 years for everybody would be fine. Just 'pass or fail'. Once a year if you fail, until you pass, then back on to the 5 year cycle.

I thought Outstanding schools had their results reviewed, and if they aren't 'outstanding' then that triggered a review? Obviously not?

A school in my area was last inspected 2006

It is pointless giving an Outstanding grade if you're not going to visit again.

Daughter's school got an Outstanding in 2015 and I do think it's a wonderful school. But no guarantees it will stay this way for the next ten years.

There should be a different system. It's nonsense. OFSTED is just a snapshot of some aspects of some teachers, lessons and books in some bits of the school of one day - nothing more.

If we have to have inspections : one or two days (depending on school size) , no notice, two grades of 'achieving acceptable standards' and 'not yet at a devotional standards.' Then if not at acceptable standard - 'wish list' developed with the school, a year and re-inspection. If at acceptable standard - monitoring from a distance via published sources. Re-inspection aft r 5 years.

I think results can trigger a review - but I'm not sure how low they have to go? isn't there some bar over a 3 year period

Our local honeypot primary school is nine years. None of the staff who were inspected are still there. I've had dealing with the old head and they're outstandingly awful.

Its results will never drop to trigger an inspection because parents move into the area, rent, cheat etc to get places there because of its reputation and all of them are tutored for selective secondaries. All the other non-faith schools in the borough have at least three times as many FSM pupils.

Ofsted is so influenced by posh intake, it really is. Joke's on the parents who flock to it though as although they make a lot of nice friends and make lots of money at their PTA auctions, I'm pretty certain their children aren't getting as good an education.

Whoever thought that exempting Outstanding schools from inspection was a good idea? It's bonkers. If the rules don't change we could be in 2028 with schools that haven't been inspected since 2007.

If their results are outstanding then what does it matter if they haven't been inspected.

I mean literally what is the point, they get outstanding results, job done. Unless their has been a complaint about some serious safeguarding issue or something.

If results are the only thing that matter in terms of Ofsted grades, then why have Ofsted at all?

There is a total disconnect between outstanding results and an outstanding education.

Outstanding results can be due to socio-economic factors in the catchment. A school in very affluent, education focussed area- for example where there is the 11+- will have a lot of it's work done for it by parents. The education could be sh*t, they would still get the results.

Another school might be doing maths and English all day every day and SATs prep for the whole of Y5 and 6. That would be a sh*t education but produce outstanding results.

Another school might be providing an absolutely A1 education- rounded, rich, amazing support for challenging learners with lots of barriers, enrichment for the most able etc. But if by doing all that they still only get average results (which may be great for their cohorts) they will only ever get a good.

I'm sure I saw a study where the same schools had been inspected twice. One team of inspectors was allowed to see the school's attainment data and one wasn't.

The teams made totally different judgements.

My school was judged outstanding in 2013. We keep hearing about Ofsted being in the area and we have the rounds of "are we Ofsted ready", but I don't think they'll be back for a while yet, unless something happens to trigger a visit. I'm not convinced we'd be outstanding if they came in now, but I don't really know. I was seen last time, an inspector say in my lesson for about 25 mins. Some departments didn't even see an inspector while other departments had 4 lessons observed (they were the core subjects so to be expected really).

I do think the idea that we can be exempt from inspections because we were judged on 2 days 5 years ago is weird. Either schools need to be inspected or we don't, and while I don't relish the prospect of an inspection, I think it would be fair to come and check we're still as good as we like to think we are were.

There should be a different system. It's nonsense. OFSTED is just a snapshot of some aspects of some teachers, lessons and books in some bits of the school of one day - nothing more.

^ this. And of course those lessons are over-planned and books over-marked for the occasion.

I'm not convinced the books are overmarked for the occasion, mine certainly weren't. Teachers don't know which pupils books are going to be looked at and we only have half a day's notice that Ofsted are coming. I know I certainly can't mark every single book in detail in a single day. And I wouldn't have time to overplan 5 lessons in a single day either.
Last time we had Ofsted (5 years ago, admittedly) I think my lessons were actually less educationally effective than normal because I spent so much effort second guessing what Ofsted wanted to see, rather than how to teach that topic effectively.

Books are not over marked when you get barely 24 hours notice

I think there is a lot of misunderstanding in this thread. It’s inevitable that many outstanding schools that have had a light inspection regime are not going to be outstanding now the rules of engagement have changed. The fact they are not visited very often is stating the obvious and every single member of staff (especially in primary schools) could have changed in that period.

I love the idea that school tittle tattle is more informed than Ofsted inspectors. They don’t just swoop in. They have reams of data on a school. They are looking at progress, not just results. They are looking at quality of teaching over time. Looking at primary inspections published recently, lots of outstanding schools are in deprived areas. Try looking at some inspection reports if you don’t believe me. You can filter by outstanding. There are also many religious schools that are RI!

Don’t ever assume teachers teach for Ofsted. You might think an inspection is due but you might be 2/3 years waiting. The best schools know how to improve and get on and do it. They have the data that proves they are doing it!

The main problem is not inspecting outstanding schools frequently enough. They do inspect if attainment and progress sharply declines as a conversation on primary board recently indicates. Poor Sats will trigger an inspection if it is a constant decline over several years. Inspectors who visit lots of schools are better placed to judge quality than parents who gossip and never ever visit another school and never ever look at progress or even read the Ofsted handbook.