Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 67
Ofsted inspection reports are too short, formulaic, and lack useful information for schools.
Conclusion
There is widespread agreement amongst schools, governing bodies and other organisations that inspection reports are too short and formulaic and do not provide enough useful information, particularly for schools. Targeting the reports at a parent audience means that schools do not always receive an in-depth assessment of their strengths and areas for improvement, and there is conflicting evidence as to whether parents themselves find the reports useful. School leaders find the oral feedback given in meetings more helpful, but this is often not fully reflected in the final published report.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of inspection reports and the trade-offs made due to funding, which leads to shorter reports focused on parents. It is keen to discuss report effectiveness with the sector through the 'Big Listen' consultation.
Paragraph Reference:
67
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
We know how important our reports are to parents, government, Parliament and schools themselves. However, given the funding we receive, we decided in 2019 to focus the inspector time we have available first and foremost on crucial on-site inspection activity and professional dialogue with leaders and staff. This is a difficult trade-off, but our priority must be to focus on the standard of education and how well children are cared for. An implication of this is that the written report does not always reflect the richer in-person feedback given at the end of inspection. Inspection reports have multiple audiences, each with different reasons for reading them. Our current reports are designed to be short and to be as accessible as possible to parents. We are keen to talk to parents and the sector about how we can make sure our reports work best for them (as mentioned in Recommendation 13 in the Committee's report). The majority of recommendations will be explored through our ‘Big Listen’ (Recommendations 1, 3, 5 to 8, 10, 13, 20 to 22 and 24 to 25). We look forward to hearing the sector’s, and the public’s, views on these important matters, and will take action immediately after the Big Listen concludes.