24th October 2018 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Ofsted has launched plans to change the criteria used to assess schools. Taking the focus away from exam results and placing it more on the quality of education students receive. Reported on the BBC, Ofsted chief inspector, Anna Spielman, said that a focus on results has narrowed what is taught in schools.
The move is in agreement with what a lot of teachers have complained about for a long time. They claim that the focus on exam results and school league tables have made schools ‘exam factories’, and the leader of the Nasuwit teachers’ union said that it was a good idea to change inspections and treat teachers as experts in their field, rather than ‘data managers’. However, the NUT urged caution, saying that the changes should not be rushed and that Ofsted should consult with school leaders.
Spielman said that looking at test scores only ignores good work done by schools in challenging circumstances. Schools work hard to produce ‘perfect data’ because they feel under pressure from inspections, and Ofsted would prefer that they were a complement to the effort from schools, rather than intensifying the pressure they feel. Many teachers have to be so focussed on results that it leaves little room for in depth thought about the curriculum.
Ms Spielman added that she doesn’t know a single teacher who went into education to achieve a perfect Progress 8 score (a measure of student performance). Teachers choose their job because they love their subject and want to enthuse and help their students.
The proposed new headings for Ofsted judgement are: personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and schools’ leadership and management. Crucially the old heading ‘outcomes for children and learners’ has been dropped. Ofsted plan to consult education professionals in January with a view to launching the new criteria from September 2019.