4 February 2025, 10:09

By Alex Crossman

As a headteacher, I've seen Ofsted at its worst – but rejecting these vital reforms suggests we fear any accountability.

Ofsted on Monday published its promised overhaul of school inspections. Inspectors are replacing single-word judgements about schools with what it calls a ‘balanced scorecard’: essentially a ‘traffic light’ system rendering different judgments for different areas of school activity.

Chief Inspector Sir Martyn Oliver pushed through the change, with the encouragement of the current government, after many years of deep dissatisfaction among teachers about how schools were inspected and judged. The case for reform was given increased poignancy by Headteacher Ruth Perry’s tragic suicide following an inspection that her sister has described as “rude and intimidating”.

The teaching profession has reacted to the new report card with jubilation and a collective sigh of relief.

No, wait: of course it hasn’t. This is the hyper-charged 2020s, when trust in and between public services has all but evaporated, replaced by tribal........

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