Memorandum submitted by Barnardo's
1. WHAT THE
PURPOSES OF
INSPECTION SHOULD
BE (RELATING
NOT ONLY
TO SCHOOLS
BUT TO
ALL ORGANISATIONS,
SETTINGS AND
SERVICES UNDER
OFSTED'S
REMIT)
Inspection is about the maintenance and improvement
of agreed service standards measured by key performance indicators.
Any inspection of such should not impede the delivery of that
service nor be overly bureaucratic or burdensome by taking individuals
off task for too long. Inspections could focus on specific areas
or be whole service specific as required whilst monitoring key
performance indicators. The length and weight of inspection should
be proportionate to these.
2. THE IMPACT
OF THE
INSPECTION PROCESS
ON SCHOOL
IMPROVEMENT
There is a belief that the rigor of school improvement
is presently underpinned and focussed by the current rigid framework
of inspection but I believe good school leaders use key indicators
like attendance, exam results, NEET figures etc to ensure their
schools constantly improve. I also believe schools would welcome
a less proscribed approach to judgements which compel all schools
regardless of designation to conform to similar rigid judgements.
If this were so, leaders would have the choice to be more creative
and innovative in securing good outcomes for pupils. The process
of gathering, preparing updating, writing and monitoring evidence
for the judgements within the current framework has a huge impact
on the Head teacher and senior management time. I do not believe
that this justifies the outcomes of inspection and actually takes
away time that could be used for real school development.
3. THE PERFORMANCE
OF OFSTED
IN CARRYING
OUT ITS
WORK
My experience has been that Ofsted carries out its
work well
4. THE CONSISTENCY
AND QUALITY
OF INSPECTION
TEAMS IN
THE OFSTED
INSPECTION PROCESS
My experience has been that the teams are consistent
but other head Teachers and Principals have reported to me differently
5. THE WEIGHT
GIVEN TO
DIFFERENT FACTORS
WITHIN THE
INSPECTION PROCESS
The use of limiting factors is contentious and may
lead to overall judgements being misleading. Parents, carers and
Local Authorities may only take in headlines rather than read
whole ofsted reports. A "good" judgement for Equality
and Diversity would limit an overall inspection judgement for
a care inspection of boarding provision to "good" even
if in every other instance the judgements were outstanding.
6. WHETHER INSPECTION
OF ALL
ORGANISATIONS, SETTINGS
AND SERVICES
TO SUPPORT
CHILDREN'S
LEARNING AND
WELFARE IS
BEST CONDUCTED
BY A
SINGLE INSPECTORATE
Yes, to provide dialogue and consistency.
7. THE ROLE
OF OFSTED
IN PROVIDING
AN ACCOUNTABILITY
MECHANISM FOR
SCHOOLS OPERATING
WITH GREATER
AUTONOMY
All bodies responsible for young people need to be
accountable and I believe under whichever umbrella they are set
up (Academy, independent etc) they need to have the same accountability.
This may mean a slightly diluted/monitoring role for Ofsted but
data collection should direct them.
October 2010
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