| SPOTLIGHT |
Single headline Ofsted grades are to be scrapped with immediate effect, to be replaced by school report cards aimed at providing parents with a “full and comprehensive assessment” of how schools are performing, the government has announced.
The announcement today (2 September) follows engagement with the sector after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life while waiting for a report that downgraded her school to "inadequate".
The Government said that single headline grades fail to provide a “fair and accurate” assessment of overall school performance across a range of areas, and are supported by a “minority” of parents and teachers.
For inspections this academic year, parents will see four grades across the existing sub-categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership & management.
From September 2025, the introduction of school report cards will provide parents with a full assessment of how schools are performing and will ensure that inspections are “more effective” in driving improvement, the Government revealed.
In cases of the most serious concern, government will continue to intervene, including by issuing an academy order, which may in some cases mean transferring to new management.
However, it will no longer directly intervene in schools which under the current system receive two or more consecutive “requires improvement” judgments. They will now get more support from a high-performing school instead.
Education unions and the teaching profession have welcomed the changes to the school inspection system, with Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of National Association of Headteachers, describing single word judgements as “simplistic” and “harmful”.
He said: “School leaders recognise the need for accountability but it must be proportionate and fair and so we are pleased to see a stronger focus on support for schools instead of heavy-handed intervention.”
He added: “There is much work to do now in order to design a fundamentally different long-term approach to inspection and we look forward to working with government to achieve that.”
From early 2025, the government will also introduce Regional Improvement Teams that will work with struggling schools to “quickly and directly address areas of weakness”.
Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary, said: “The need for Ofsted reform to drive high and rising standards for all our children in every school is overwhelmingly clear. The removal of headline grades is a generational reform and a landmark moment for children, parents, and teachers.
“Single headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools. Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing – that’s what our report cards will provide.
“This government will make inspection a more powerful, more transparent tool for driving school improvement.”
Responding to the announcement, Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: "This is a significant step forward in rebuilding trust between Ofsted and the teaching profession. Removing one-word judgements will start giving headteachers and school leaders confidence that inspections more transparently and fairly reflect the complex realities of school life.
"For too long, the inspection process has been high stakes and over-simplified, instead of an opportunity to properly reflect the diverse experiences of children's education and their wellbeing. That must always be central to any robust inspection system.”
Rachael Wardell, Vice President of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), said: “ADCS has long raised concerns about the use of single word judgements as they can only ever tell a partial story and may be unjustly negative. Equally, an outstanding judgement awarded some years ago does not mean every pupil today has a high-quality experience or that all children’s outcomes will be exceptional.
“We welcome this move and look forward to working with government on the report card approach in the coming months across all domains of Ofsted’s work. Using one word, or a short phrase, to describe a school, a children’s social care department or an entire system in the case of SEND, does not make sense.”
Lottie Winson
