Thumbs down for Labour’s Ofsted scheme

HEAD teachers are opposed to Labour’s plan to replace Ofsted grades with report cards, a survey has found.

The education union NAHT polled almost 2,000 school leaders in England about the future of the inspection system at the end of last year.

It found that while almost all of the respondents wanted Ofsted to scrap one-word judgements such as “outstanding” and “inadequate”, only 14 per cent backed a Labour”s “report card” alternative.

Labour has said that it would consult on replacing the existing Ofsted grading system with a report card if it wins the next election. It has not confirmed what would be included on the scorecard.

Commenting on the survey findings, NAHT said that “school leaders are sceptical about the concept of ‘report cards’”. It said: “It is not yet clear which data would be included in a report card and how it would differ from already available public information.

“At worst this would risk creating a new series of cliff-edge, high-stakes measures, while it seems unlikely this approach would capture the richness of a more detailed written report, or the individual context and circumstances of an individual school, the survey found.”

The majority (64 per cent) of school leaders said they instead want grades replaced with “short written reports” summarising a school’s “strengths and weaknesses”.

Teaching unions are lobbying Ofsted to commit to an overhaul of inspections in the wake of the death of head teacher Ruth Perry to ensure they are less “high stakes”.

Mrs Perry killed herself after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns.

A Labour spokesman said: “Labour wants teachers and families to be partners in the push for better in our schools, which is why we will consult on the exact shape of the new report cards, ensuring the new system has the confidence of parents and the teaching profession.”