AELP and UCU back Ofsted’s decision to scrap graded lesson observations for inspections

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and University College Union (UCU) have welcomed Oftsed’s decision to scrap graded lesson observations for FE inspections from September.

An Ofsted spokesperson said that it had “consulted with FE and skills providers” and “conducted numerous pilot inspections to test the changes” before deciding to go ahead with the change, which it confirmed today.

It comes after FE Week reported in June last year that the education watchdog would be trying out pilot inspections with no grading of teaching in individual FE sessions during 2014/15, as first revealed by Ofsted’s FE and skills director Lorna Fitzjohn (pictured main image) on Twitter, which led to a debate in the sector about whether they should continue or be scrapped.

Stewart Segal (pictured below right), AELP chief executive, told FE Week today: “On balance we think that not grading individual lesson observations is the right thing to do.”Stewart-Segalwp

However, he added: “It is essential that Ofsted inspectors share their findings with providers and evidence how they have arrived at their overall grading for teaching and learning.

“Even if individual lessons are not explicitly graded it must be very transparent as to what inspectors are looking for in the delivery of teaching and assessment.”

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt (pictured below left), also welcomed the reform.

She said: “UCU has long argued that graded lesson observation is a box-ticking exercise that piles the pressure on staff but ultimately is of no discernible benefit.

“Watching one lesson is not a fair or reliable way to judge a person’s professional competence and we are pleased Ofsted is looking seriously at getting rid of it.

Sally-Huntwp“It is time for a sea-change in culture to overhaul this failed method of assessment.”

The UCU published a report on June 11 last year, called Developing a National Framework for the Effective Use of Lesson Observation in FE, that raised “serious questions about the fitness for purpose of prevailing observation assessment systems in FE”.

Ms Fitzjohn was the first to reveal via Twitter that its graded lesson observations in FE and Skills could be ending for good on June 9 last year.

She tweeted: “Ofsted is to pilot FE and skills inspections without grading teaching in individual sessions.”

The Ofsted spokesperson said today: “We have taken the decision to no longer grade the quality of teaching in individual learning sessions.

“This change will be reflected in Ofsted’s new handbook for the inspection of FE and skills, which we will publish before the end of the summer term.”

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3 Comments

  1. I think this is good news for teachers, in that it stops the ‘pressure’ on the individual selected for observation. You cannot judge someone’s teaching ability or skills in one observation, there are too many variables. I know many good teachers have left the profession because that one lesson and grade made them feel a failure, when they had so much to give.

    • Mike Cooper

      It ought to be a case of such ‘good news’, yes… but the idea of Ofsted abandoning that approach may well have a few stings left in the tail, and for some time still. This move has been much discussed and prepared for over several years amongst the inspectorate, I understand. So, the transition won’t be wholly a black-and-white one. It is likely not to have an instantly complete and ‘watertight’ ending, either.

      The grading system is deeply entrenched — in many inspectors, many ex-inspectors acting now as consultants going around the circuit offering OTLA training, and a wide range of managers at all levels and across the sector. Not all of them will abandon the concept immediately (or even willingly?); alas, it serves too many purposes, not all of which are necessarily constructive.

      Moreover, these multiple purposes can spill over from any quality-improvement system into providing ‘evidence’ for performance management and similar HR systems. There may well be some connections, of course; but they are too often tenuous, simplistic and potentially as damaging as they could be useful, ultimately.

      So while a organisational commitment by Ofsted to ending formal grading approaches in observation during inspections is to be welcomed, that may not be the whole story, and almost certainly not th end of the story.

  2. FE Lecturer

    It is very good to hear that we are getting rid of the current destructive and negative system. A system where a lecturer’s performance is represented by a single number is surely unfit for the twenty first century.
    This does make the OFSTED inspection more focussed on department and college performance rather than a ‘witch hunt’ to seek out those who are deemed worthless because they become represented by the number 3 or the number 4. Lecturers will be glad to see the end of this.
    It does however mean that management of FE, at all levels, will fall under the spotlight more and hopefully OFSTED will ask new questions concerning treatment of staff, workload, planning, staff development and motivation; all of which end up affecting the student experience.