Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 47
47
Accepted
Paragraph: 147
Review Ofsted's 'inadequate' safeguarding judgement policy, preventing academy orders for minor issues.
Recommendation
In the interim, Ofsted should review its policy on ‘inadequate’ judgements due to ineffective safeguarding and ensure that schools are only being judged ‘inadequate’ in cases where they are fundamentally failing to keep children safe. In cases where the problems are uncomplicated and can be resolved within a short space of time, the Department should not issue an academy order until after the school has been reinspected.
Government Response Summary
The government has clarified that a school will only be judged 'inadequate' due to safeguarding if children are not safe, and has implemented rapid re-inspections to allow schools to remedy issues before formal intervention, directly addressing the recommendation.
Paragraph Reference:
147
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We have acted quickly to re-evaluate our policies and practice to ensure that all of our work reflects this commitment. Since September 2023, and following our response to the coroner, we have made a number of changes. We have: clarified in our inspection handbook, in our training for inspectors and to the sector, more precisely what we mean by ‘ineffective safeguarding’ (in line with Recommendation 26); implemented a policy of rapid return to schools that have been graded inadequate solely due to ineffective safeguarding – allowing them to remedy issues and improve their inspection grade before formal intervention measures take place (in line with Recommendation 27 and as we committed to in our response to the coroner); further clarified that a school will only be judged to have ineffective safeguarding when children are not safe. We are also working on a number of new policies and practices. These include: conducting a formal internal review of where aspects of safeguarding fit within the individual judgements of the education inspection framework, subject to challenge from an expert group. As part of this, we are considering having safeguarding as a standalone judgement, decoupled from the leadership and management grade (as we committed to in our response to the coroner). This consideration will continue as part of the Big Listen, with the response to the Big Listen setting out our agreed approach to reform.