Lee Owston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cIntroducing separate subheadings, but keeping one overall judgment, arguably makes things more confusing by giving the appearance that these are distinct evaluation areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not think this is clear for parents and it certainly is not working well for schools. Ofsted needs to admit that there are major problems with the framework that cannot be solved with these kind of cosmetic changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders\u2019 union NAHT, said it was “good that Ofsted recognises grading attendance and behaviour within the same judgement is flawed”.<\/p>\n
“But creating separate paragraphs within the same overarching graded structure does not address that fundamental flaw.<\/p>\n
“Separate paragraphs won\u2019t solve the problem when it\u2019s the overall grade that gets published and that determines whether or not you are subject to additional monitoring.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said subheadings “may make things clearer for parents” but that it is “disappointing” Ofsted has not “addressed the inherent issue with this evaluation area”. He said some schools “making significant progress in creating a respectful and positive learning environment can have their grade dragged down by raw attendance data” which does not adequately reflect context.<\/p>\n
The inspectorate will tweak its education inspection framework annually.<\/p>\n
Changes to be published in June<\/h2>\n Owston confirmed this year’s changes will be published in June, before they are rolled out in September.<\/p>\n
Some leaders feel their grade has been dragged down by issues affecting just one area.<\/p>\n
Others feel it unfairly penalises more inclusive schools, or those in deprived areas where attendance may be lower.<\/p>\n
To achieve the middle \u2018expected standard\u2019 grade for attendance and behaviour, overall attendance must be \u201cbroadly in line with national averages or show an improving trend over time\u201d, according to Ofsted\u2019s inspection toolkit.<\/p>\n
Recent analysis of about 650 school report cards by the leaders\u2019 union NAHT suggested schools with above-average disadvantage or an above-average proportion of pupils with SEND were more likely to be graded ‘needs attention’ for the judgment area.<\/p>\n
Owston also said grades for attendance and behaviour \u201care far more positive than you might assume or have heard\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said \u201cabout one in 10\u201d schools received \u2018needs attention\u2019 for that judgment area, adding that this grade \u201cisn\u2019t a fail\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ofsted to ‘clarify what evidence we consider’<\/h2>\n Ofsted is due to publish its own analysis alongside management information next month.<\/p>\n
Owston said the changes announced in June would also include \u201cclarifying exactly what evidence we do consider for the achievement evaluation area\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said the evidence used by inspectors would not change.<\/p>\n
ASCL, the NAHT and school leaders have raised concerns about Ofsted\u2019s use of words such as \u201cbroadly\u201d and \u201ctypically\u201d in the inspection toolkit and how they were interpreted by inspectors.<\/p>\n
Asked by\u00a0Schools Week<\/em>\u00a0whether Ofsted planned to clarify what these words meant, Owston said: \u201cWe will be looking at our training to inspectors… [and] give examples of what \u2018typically\u2019 actually means in terms of an IDSR (inspection data summary report) and the broader evidence we collect around achievement.\u201d<\/p>\nOwston also addressed concerns about school context not being taken into account, and claims that schools in less advantaged areas \u201care being compared bluntly to national averages\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not true,\u201d he said. \u201cWe recognise that pupils have different starting points, and we’re looking for them to progress from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expected standard refers to being typically broadly in line with national averages. But that does not mean that schools who are one percentage point below the national average are going to automatically be graded as \u2018needs attention\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it was \u201cnot as simple as having a challenging context or not\u201d, and that while inspectors factored in context, it \u201cshould never predetermine a grade\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Union boss warns schools will continue to be punished and parents confused <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314902,"featured_media":246161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"post-theme":[],"class_list":["post-246149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t
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