News

Government immediately scraps one-word Ofsted ratings for schools

"Single headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools."

Emily Sergeant - 2nd September 2024

One-word Ofsted ratings for schools are to be scrapped with immediate effect, the Government has announced.

In an aim to boost school standards and increase transparency for parents, the Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed this week that its education standards board will cease to use single-headline grades for schools, as believes they are “reductive” and fail to provide a “fair and accurate assessment of overall school performance” across a range of areas.

According to the Government, Ofsted one-word ratings are currently only supported by a minority of parents and teachers anyway.

So, what does this mean for the future of Ofsted inspections then?

Well, for inspections that are due to take place this academic year, parents will see four grades across the existing sub-categories, which are: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, but these grades will not be condensed into a single one-word rating.

Single headline grades are low value for parents and high stakes for schools.

Parents expect high standards for their children. We will give them clearer and broader information about schools, to help them make the right choice for their child. pic.twitter.com/pcNMAAUD72
— Department for Education (@educationgovuk) September 2, 2024

The Government will, however, continue to intervene in poorly-performing schools to ensure there are still high school standards for children.

Where schools are identified as struggling, the Government will prioritise getting plans in place for them to improve the education and experience of children “rapidly”, rather than relying purely on changing schools’ management.

Then, 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.

This reform is said to be “paving the way” for the introduction of the new ‘School Report Cards’ from September of next year – which will provide parents with a full and comprehensive assessment of how schools are performing, and ensure that inspections are more effective in driving improvement.

Recent data shows that reports cards are supported by 77% of parents.

High school students raising their hands in a classroom / Credit: gov.uk

“The need for Ofsted reform to drive high and rising standards for all our children in every school is overwhelmingly clear,” explained Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, as the announcement was made this week.

“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 – and that’s what our report cards will provide.”

🚨 NEW: We’re scrapping single headline Ofsted judgements with immediate effect.

Ofsted judgements have been high stakes for schools, low information for parents.

We’ll:

✅ Give parents more transparency
✅ Drive high & rising standards
✅ Pave the way for school report cards
— Bridget Phillipson (@bphillipsonMP) September 2, 2024

The change to scrap one-word ratings will apparently work to delivering the Government’s mission to “break down barriers to opportunity” and also demonstrates Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s commitment to “improve the life chances” of young people across the country.

“This Government will make inspection a more powerful, more transparent tool for driving school improvement,” the Education Secretary concluded.

“We promised change, and now we are delivering.”

Features Image – The Labour Party (via Flickr)