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Ofsted delays setting out final plan for school inspections until September
Ofsted has delayed setting out its final plan for school inspections in England until September – just weeks before new report cards are due to be rolled out.
The watchdog had planned to publish its formal response to its consultation on proposed inspection reforms in the summer term, ahead of the changes coming into effect in November.
Sir Martyn Oliver, chief inspector of Ofsted, has now said it plans to publish its full response in September due to the scale of the feedback it received.
The watchdog has said it will give them more time to analyse responses and carry out further testing of proposals to improve the final approach.
However, school leaders' unions have criticised Ofsted's new proposed timetable as they say it will place more pressure on teachers who will only have the first half-term to prepare for the major education inspection reforms.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has suggested the timeline could do 'real damage' to the health and wellbeing of school staff, adding that Ofsted's decision was 'bordering on reckless'.
Meanwhile, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has called the revised timetable 'nonsensical' and 'ridiculous'.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has called the delay of the publication of inspection materials – and Ofsted's consultation response – 'disappointing'.
Under Ofsted's plans, set out in February, schools in England could be graded across eight to 10 areas of a provision using a colour-coded five-point scale.
They would receive ratings, from the red 'causing concern' to orange 'attention needed', through the green shades of 'secure', 'strong' and 'exemplary' for each area of practice.
Education unions have criticised the proposals for being even worse than the system they would replace.
In a letter to the Education Secretary on Wednesday, Sir Martyn said: 'We fully intend to make improvements to the proposed inspection framework, based on what we have heard, but we need a little more time to complete our analysis of the responses we have received.
'I am also convinced that our final approach will be improved by further testing of these refinements before the summer.'
Last year, the Government announced that headline Ofsted grades for overall effectiveness for schools in England would be scrapped.
Previously, Ofsted awarded one of four single-phrase inspection judgments: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.
The move came after Ofsted faced criticism after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
Mrs Perry took her own life in January 2023 after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, from the highest to the lowest overall effectiveness rating over safeguarding concerns.
On Ofsted's new timetable for the consultation response, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'If these proposals go ahead, school leaders will now have to spend the first half-term of the new school year preparing for an entirely new inspection framework.
'Rather than having a term, it appears they may have just a matter of weeks to do this. The pressure this will place schools under is immense and there is no way this is in the best interests of pupils.
'We recognise that we may never agree on every aspect of inspection policy, but this decision is bordering on reckless and could do real damage to the health and wellbeing of school staff.
'We urge Government to intervene to ensure that Ofsted is not allowed to proceed on this basis.'
Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'The introduction of a nonsensical inspection framework is now compounded by a nonsensical timetable.
'The idea that schools and colleges can prepare for a complete change in the inspection system on this scale in two months is, frankly, ridiculous.'
He added: 'This decision will pile yet more pressure on the education workforce and shows little care for their wellbeing.
'How this rushed timetable is supposed to benefit children and parents is anyone's guess.'
In a letter responding to Sir Martyn about the delay, the Education Secretary said: 'It is important that Ofsted delivers to the expected timescales, to build confidence in the Inspectorate and avoid additional challenges for headteachers and leaders in planning ahead for changes to the system.
'I note your absolute commitment to introduce the revised framework in November as planned and communicated to the sector.'
On Wednesday, Ms Phillipson also announced the appointment of Dame Christine Gilbert, a former Ofsted chief inspector, as the new chairwoman of Ofsted.
Dame Christine led the independent learning review in response to the coroner's Prevention of Future Deaths report from Mrs Perry's inquest.
The review concluded that Ofsted's initial response to the death of Mrs Perry appeared 'defensive and complacent'.
Mrs Perry's sister, Professor Julia Waters, said: 'Dame Christine Gilbert pulled no punches in her criticism of Ofsted in her independent review of Ofsted's response to the death of my sister, Ruth Perry.
'Her report showed that Ofsted's institutional culture and processes need root-and-branch reform, and I am pleased to hear that Dame Christine has now been appointed as chair of the Ofsted board.'
She added: 'Ofsted must use the extra time to make significant changes to their plans.
'If not, it will have created the worst possible scenario: a bad inspection system, with even less time for schools and families to adapt to it.'
