At Better Tuition, the learner is at the centre of everything we do. We challenge and support learners to develop thinking skills. Our goal is for our students to gain high-level thinking and study skills. We prepare children for specific exams such as entrance exams and GCSEs, but it is always our aim to give our students an enthusiasm for learning, coupled with independent study skills. The good news this week is that education’s governing bodies are taking our views on board.

A common criticism of schools currently is that they are ‘exam factories’, concerned only with results in SATs, GCSEs and A Levels. Bowing to the pressure of more a more demanding curriculum and significantly more challenging GCSE syllabi, many schools have been accused of simply ‘teaching to the test’.

To counteract this, the UK’s Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) has announced changes to its inspection framework. Speaking to school leaders at the annual SCHOOLS NorthEast summit in Newcastle, Ofsted Chief Inspector,  Amanda Spielman said the changes would take effect from September 2019. According to Ofsted, the changes will be designed to allow teachers and leaders to spend more of their time on the real substance of education.

Moving away from a Focus on Data

In recent times, Ofsted has tended to focus on results. The new framework will seek to look away from mere numbers and to examine how schools are going about achieving their results. The big question will be: are schools offering a curriculum that is broad, rich and deep?

Ms Spielman acknowledged that the current inspection framework has increased teachers’ already excessive workload. She said that when it comes to assessing a school, Ofsted should complement, rather than intensify, performance data.

“For a long time, our inspections have looked hardest at outcomes, placing too much weight on test and exam results when we consider the overall effectiveness of schools,” she said. “The cumulative impact of performance tables and inspections, and the consequences that are hung on them, has increased the pressure on school leaders, teachers and indirectly on pupils to deliver perfect data above all else.

“But we know that focusing too narrowly on test and exam results can often leave little time or energy for hard thinking about the curriculum, and in fact can sometimes end up making a casualty of it. The bottom line is that we must make sure that we, as an inspectorate, complement rather than intensify performance data. Our new focus will [lead] the inspection conversation back to the substance of young people’s learning and treating teachers as experts in their field, not just data managers.”

Ms Spielman announced that Ofsted will consult on the introduction of a new judgement for ‘quality of education’. This will take the place of ‘outcomes for pupils’ and ‘teaching, learning and assessment’ with a wider, single judgement. The ‘quality of education’ judgement will allow Ofsted to recognise primary schools that, for example, prioritise phonics and the transition into early reading, and which encourage older pupils to read widely and deeply.

It will make it easier for secondary schools to offer a broad range of subjects, encouraging children to take up of core EBacc subjects at GCSE, such as the humanities and languages, alongside the arts and creative subjects. Furthermore, Ofsted will take issue with those schools where too much time is spent on preparation for tests at the expense of teaching, where pupil are not offered enough choices at GCSE, or where children are pushed into less rigorous qualifications purely to boost league table positions.The Chief Inspector also announced the three other inspection judgements that Ofsted will consult on:

• Personal development

• Behaviour and attitudes

• Schools’ leadership and management

The ‘personal development, welfare and behaviour’ judgement in the current framework will be split into two distinct areas. This change recognises the difference between behaviour and discipline in schools, and pupils’ wider personal development and their opportunities to grow as active, healthy and engaged citizens.

Tackling excessive workload

An overall effectiveness judgement will continue to be awarded, and all judgements will be made using the current four point grading scale.

“With teacher workload and retention such pressing issues, I am firmly of the view that a focus on substance will help to tackle excessive workload,” said Ms Spielman. “It will move inspection more towards being a conversation about what actually happens in schools. Those who are bold and ambitious and run their schools with integrity will be rewarded as a result.”

Ms Spielman said the new framework will make it easier to recognise and reward the good work done by schools in areas of high disadvantage. Ofsted hopes to remove the incentive for schools to put overall results ahead of individual children’s needs, by shifting the focus away from outcomes.

Ofsted’s consultation on the new inspection framework will be launched in January. Ofsted will consider all responses carefully before finalising the framework. Further details of the consultation and how to respond will be published early next year.

Overall, we think this is a positive change, as it looks to evaluate the quality of learning rather than simple ‘learning outcomes.’ What do you think? Please comment below with your views.