Further supplementary memorandum submitted
by Ofsted to Graham Stuart MP
I was grateful for the opportunity to give evidence
to the Select Committee on Wednesday 6 May, as part of your inquiry
into School Accountability. During the session, you asked me about
the proportion of secondary schools judged as satisfactory, and
I said that I would provide figures to outline the general trend
of improvement over the last three years.
In order to gain an understanding of the improvement
of the sector, it is important to look at the proportion of schools
that is satisfactory or better. Over the last three years (up
to autumn 2008), the proportion of inadequate schools has declined
and therefore, the proportion that are satisfactory or better
has increased from 87% to 94%. Indeed, the proportion of outstanding
schools in the autumn term 2008 was double that in the autumn
term 2005.
Although I am cautious about making general
statements based on only one term's data, you will see that the
chart below shows a general trend of improvement since 2005.
It is also the case that, as Ofsted has worked
to "raise the bar" with each new inspection framework,
what was judged as satisfactory four years ago would not necessarily
be judged as satisfactory now. For example, we have added additional
inspection requirements since 2005, such as the duty to promote
community cohesion and the use of challenging targets to raise
standards. As a consequence, what we now require for a school
to be judged satisfactory is more demanding than was the case
in 2005-06, when the current inspection framework was introduced.
Similar proportions should, therefore, be seen as evidence of
continued improvement.
You will recall that I also mentioned that we
are planning to increase the number of monitoring visits we make
to schools that have been judged as satisfactory. This new series
of visits was introduced in 2007 and we currently make a return
visit to around 5% of schools that have been judged to be satisfactory.
The success of these visits, welcomed by schools, means they will
be increased from September 2009. Although final plans are yet
to be agreed, I anticipate that around 40% of all satisfactory
schools will receive such a visit. In this way, Ofsted will be
able to ensure that schools which were judged as satisfactory
overall continue to be monitored, and to improve.
As I said at the time, I consider the inquiry
into School Accountability to be a very important and well-timed
opportunity to scrutinise the wider framework of accountability
for schools. If there are any aspects of this inquiry on which
you would like anything further from Ofsted, please be in touch.
Christine Gilbert
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector
May 2009
| 
