One-word Ofsted grades should stay, says government

The system of one-word Ofsted judgements for schools in England should stay, according to the government.

It said the grades, such as "outstanding" or "inadequate", gave parents an important summary of local schools.

The sister of head teacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life after her school was downgraded, said she was deeply upset by the government's response.

In January, a report from the cross-party education select committee called for an end to the overall judgements, which are either one or two words.

Only ministers can change the system, but the Department for Education, in its response to the report, said it had "significant benefits".

It said ministers "would continue to listen to views and look at alternative systems".

However, it added: "There are significant benefits from having an Ofsted overall effectiveness grade.

"In our view, the priority is to look for ways to improve the current system rather than developing an alternative to it."

It said such improvements could include how Ofsted findings are presented and highlighting more detail that underpins the summary grade.

But Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "The problem is not presentational, it is that the system is fundamentally flawed and must change."

He said the government's response came "despite all the evidence that these single-phrase judgements are the source of sky-high stress and anxiety, damaging the wellbeing of leaders and teachers, sapping morale and causing many people to leave the profession".

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union, the NAHT, said the government had defended "an inhumane and unreliable inspection system that is driving a mental health and wellbeing crisis across England’s schools".

"We cannot rule out something awful happening again in future if the inspectorate does not change," he added, referring to Mrs Perry's death in January 2023.

Ruth Perry said she had not been allowed to talk about the Ofsted result to anyone

Ofsted downgraded Mrs Perry's school, Caversham Primary, in Reading, from "outstanding" to "inadequate" because of safeguarding concerns, after visiting in November 2022.

A coroner ruled in December that the inspection "contributed" to Mrs Perry's death and said there was a risk of further deaths "unless action is taken".

Ofsted apologised fully the following month for the role it played in Mrs Perry's suicide and promised a review of lessons to be learned.

Mrs Perry's sister, Prof Julia Waters, told the BBC she was angry and deeply upset that the government had failed to act on the family’s main concern.

"That word 'inadequate' destroyed my sister... It's the consequences, the completely disproportionate consequences, that are attached to that single word," she said.

"They claim to be listening but they haven't been listening."

Sir Michael Wilshaw, who was head of Ofsted between 2012 and 2016, echoed Prof Waters' comment, saying ministers had made the wrong decision and had “not listened carefully enough”.

“We should only keep that one-word judgement if we’re absolutely sure that they reflect what’s happening in the school accurately,” he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. “We haven’t got that.”

Instead, he said, inspectors “cram… conflicting judgements into that final one word and it often is the wrong judgement”.

Sir Michael said he would prefer the Labour Party’s proposed “report card” system, which he said would show schools’ strengths and weaknesses.

Labour has previously said Ofsted's system of one-word judgements "can’t capture the breadth of school life".