How an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating can HARM a school’s exams results

GETTING a positive Ofsted rating may ultimately damage a school’s GCSE results because it causes some parents to support their child less at home, research suggests.

Parents who received a better-thanexpected inspection report about their child’s school were around 20 percentage points more likely to help less with homework than parents who did not, the study found.

And pupils whose parents learned of a good report early in the academic year performed significantly worse in their GCSE exams than those where good news was revealed later.

The study, conducted by a team from four UK universities and two think-tanks, looked at data on Ofsted inspections and schools’ GCSE performances from 2009 to 2014.

Professor Imran Rasul, from University College London and the Institute of Fiscal Studies, said: ‘[Parents] withdraw support for their children when they are happy the school is doing well.’ By contrast, the study also found parents’ reactions to a negative Ofsted result were ‘much more muted’.

They did not respond by significantly increasing their help at home.

Professor Rasul said: ‘More thought should be given to how information on school quality is given to parents, and how to prevent this from having an adverse impact.’