Ofsted’s new inspection report cards have been “cobbled together at ridiculous speed” with no underpinning research and concerns by experienced officials ignored, whistleblowers have claimed.
In a letter due to be sent to unions, and seen by FE Week sister title Schools Week, staff claim they have been forced to speak out publicly over the “rushed and botched framework”.
They say a consultation on the plans, due to launch next week, is a “sham” as there will be no time to introduce a model that would differ from Ofsted’s proposal.
They also question claims that report cards will be “evolution not revolution”, adding proposals amount to a “wholly different” framework.
The letter was sent by an Ofsted employee, who did not want to be named, but said they were one of six staff speaking out. They have two decades of inspection and school leadership between them.
Their concerns also “represent the feelings and anxieties of a large number” of colleagues, they added.
Sources said that similar concerns have been aired by other Ofsted staff about the pace and input into the new framework.
Staff ‘deeply concerned’
Leaked details of Ofsted’s report cards last year stated schools would be judged over multiple categories, on a scale of one to five. Report cards will also be introduced for FE and skills providers, but it’s not yet known how similar they will be in design to schools.
The letter alleges some staff are “deeply concerned” about changes.
It says: “Senior Ofsted leaders will not permit any questioning or real reflection on the workability of this rushed and botched framework.”
The whistleblowers described plans as a “chaotic mess”. While the current framework was “solidly grounded in the latest and best educational research, the new framework is amateurish and has been cobbled together at ridiculous speed with virtually no underpinning research”.
The letter also alleged the planned consultation is “just a public relations exercise, not a real consultation.
“It is a sham. By the time the public consultation reports, and pilot inspections have happened, the summer term will be ending and there is simply no time to change anything if inspectors are supposed to be trained and start using the framework in the autumn term.”
They also claimed the new framework is “wholly different” to the current education inspection framework (EIF), introduced in 2019, “in purpose and content”.
And they warned the new framework is supposed to launch in the new academic year, which was “less than a year from conception to implementation”.
“In contrast, the EIF took over two and a half years to research, consult, develop, pilot and refine before it was launched.”
It’s not clear how widespread these feelings are amongst Ofsted staff. But other insiders pointed to a number of senior staff leaving the inspectorate.
Matt Newman, from FDA civil servants’ union which represents His Majesty’s Inspectors, said a poll of members in December found they wanted to be consulted more on changes.
However, he said that is something which has since happened.
An Ofsted spokesperson said: “Ofsted is changing – for the better. We will shortly be launching a full 12-week consultation on changes to inspection and reporting, which will raise standards for children and provide more detailed information for parents.
“We are extremely grateful to colleagues here and in the wider education sector who have contributed to the development of these proposals, and we want to hear back from parents and professionals when they see the detail.”
‘No faith in senior leadership’
In the letter, the whistleblowers claimed they “have no faith in senior leadership” to listen to concerns.
They have sounded the alarm to unions because they “care deeply about Ofsted and about the children and professionals it serves, and our concern is causing us to act”.
They described themselves as senior HMIs, HMI specialist advisors and an office-based civil service member. Schools Week was unable to verify their roles.
The new Labour government scrapped single-phrase headline judgments for schools with immediate effect in September. The move will follow for FE and skills providers this coming September.
Ofsted has since led on the design of new report cards that will replace the existing inspection reports in the new academic year.
The changes are being made in response to a coroner’s ruling in late 2023 that an inspection contributed to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
Concerns echo those of union bosses, who last year said they feared Ofsted was “running away” with the design of report cards.
In a briefing for members this week, Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Pepe Di’Iasio said the “proposals that we anticipate from Ofsted – barring a last-minute change of heart – seem deeply flawed”.
He was “more than concerned about what [the announcement] might say and how it might not necessarily make what was a previously flawed system less flawed going forward”.
Additional reporting by Lydia Chantler-Hicks.
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