The inspector: Ofsted is vital – but not its culture of hitting targets at any cost

A school leader recently asked me: “Do people in Ofsted not understand the pressures schools are under?” Coming after an academic year when Ofsted made little allowance for the impact of Covid in schools, the final straw for many was Ofsted continuing to inspect schools last year in the final week of term despite forecasts of an extreme heatwave.

The school leader’s question was a cri de coeur likely to be echoed by headteachers across England. I responded that his majesty’s inspectors (HMIs) all have school experience and do understand the pressures. It is Ofsted’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, and her advisers who do not, given their lack of teaching experience coupled with a culture of meeting targets at all costs.

Ofsted is incredibly powerful in the state schools attended by most children. About 85% of schools are graded as at least “good”. For those schools, Ofsted may be an unnecessary burden. The problem is that without inspection, it is impossible to know whether a school is good or not.

A couple of years ago I led an inspection of a secondary school that was previously graded as requiring improvement. The school’s results had improved, and pupils seemed to be getting a good deal. It was only on the second day of the two-day inspection that we uncovered evidence suggesting a less positive picture: a significant number of year 11 pupils were being taken off the school’s roll with nowhere else to go. This made the school’s GCSE results look better, and improved its climate for learning. But there were totally inadequate checks on whether the pupils taken off he roll were safe, or even alive. So an expected “good” grade instead became “inadequate”.

Many people seem under the misconception that Ofsted inspections should replicate exam performance. Although I have criticisms of Ofsted’s policing of what is taught, I can see sense in the chief inspector’s view that we have two school accountability measures. One measure is exam results, while the other is Ofsted inspections. Having the second replicating the first would be pointless.

The balance between results and how they are arrived at has altered significantly. It is a lack of understanding of this, in relation to quality of education judgement, that provokes allegations of Ofsted “hit squads” downgrading schools. While quality of education is the limiting judgment in assessing a school’s effectiveness, Ofsted also makes critical judgments in other areas where expectations have increased in recent years, chiefly pupil safeguarding.

Schools are not generally failed on safeguarding for minor technicalities. Very occasionally, I have visited schools where systems were chaotic and I could not be sure all staff had criminal record checks, or that internal systems were rigorous enough to monitor concerns about individual pupils.

Does Ofsted do enough to ensure inspectors always act professionally? No. Is Ofsted’s focus on a narrow range of subjects and a shallow interpretation of cognitive science helpful? Absolutely not. But most importantly, is inspection a vital champion for parents and especially children? Yes. That is why, despite my criticisms of Ofsted, I still believe in inspection.

Adrian Lyons was an Ofsted HMI from 2005 to 2021, and is now a consultant supporting schools, academy trusts and teacher training providers.