‘Labour would inspect schools more, not less’
SCHOOL inspections will be stepped up if Labour wins power, despite teachers’ leaders calling for watchdog Ofsted to be scrapped.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson will today unveil plans for a more rigorous regime if there are signs that standards are slipping.
The move puts her on a collision course with unions who want assessments to be paused following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
In an interview with the Sunday Express Ms Phillipson pledged to increase the frequency of Ofsted checks.
At present, schools graded good or outstanding can wait up to four years for the next inspection, while those graded lower are supposed to be revisited within 30 months.
The mother-of-two said: “Where children are being failed then action must always follow. That’s why a more effective inspectorate will be taking action where standards are slipping.
“Lots of schools have been left for years without inspection. That means we are not as confident as we should be about where there are challenges and addressing those.”
Earlier this month, delegates at the National Education Union’s conference voted to back calls for Ofsted to be abolished.
Head Ms Perry took her own life while waiting for publication of a report grading Caversham Primary School, in Reading, Berkshire, “inadequate”.
Houghton and Sunderland South MP Ms Phillipson has taken on the union before.at its conference last year, she was heckled and some delegates walked out as she said inspections were necessary.
Schools graded good or out- standing currently wait up to four years for a new check. Those graded lower should be revisited within 30 months.
The 39-year-old said her plans include sending inspectors at least once a year to examine safeguarding policies to protect pupils from sexual abuse and reducing absence.
Inspections would also be changed, so heads
Sexual abuse ‘normalised’
BRIDGET PHILLIPSON, who has an 11-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son, said she was “horrified” at the scale of sexual abuse experienced by children in schools: “Like all parents I’ve been really shocked at the reports we have seen.”
Thousands of children and young people shared stories of being verbally abused, harassed or assaulted on website Everyone’s Invited after it was launched in 2020. It prompted an Ofsted inquiry which concluded sexual harassment has become “normalised” among school-age children.
Ms Phillipson said: “These issues are too serious to be left to infrequent inspection.”
and parents received a “report card” showing the school’s weaknesses and strengths.
This would end the “high stakes” nature of inspections in which performance is summarised in one word such as “inadequate”. Ms Phillipson highlighted data showing more than 260,000 pupils are taught in “inadequate” schools – and more than 17,000 are in schools rated inadequate for two inspections in a row.
But Labour ruled out abolishing or replacing Ofsted. Ms Phillipson said: “We need to see a much greater focus on school improvement, particularly in those schools that are stuck.”