Government Scraps One-Word Ofsted Judgments for Schools

Children in a school in the United Kingdom on Sept. 12, 2018. PA

The schools inspectorate Ofsted will stop issuing single-word grades for schools with immediate effect, the Department for Education (DfE) has announced.

The DfE said in a statement on Monday that the changes will “boost school standards and increase transparency for parents.”

“Reductive single headline grades fail to provide a fair and accurate assessment of overall school performance across a range of areas and are supported by a minority of parents and teachers,” the department said.

Previously, Ofsted provided one of four overall judgments—“outstanding,” “good,” “requires improvement,” or “inadequate”—in its overall assessment for schools. But starting this academic year, parents will see separate grades for each of the individual areas assessed: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said, “The removal of headline grades is a generational reform and a landmark moment for children, parents, and teachers.”

“This government will make inspection a more powerful, more transparent tool for driving school improvement. We promised change, and now we are delivering,” Phillipson added.

During the election, the Labour Party had pledged to reform Ofsted and get rid of single-word gradings. Monday’s overhaul paves the way for the introduction of School Report Cards, which the government said will provide parents with a full and comprehensive assessment of how their child’s school is performing. School Report Cards are expected to be introduced next September.

Single-Word Judgments ‘Dangerous’

The change was made following the government’s engagement with the education sector and the family of headteacher Ruth Perry, after a coroner’s inquest found the Ofsted inspection process had contributed to her death.

Perry had committed suicide in January 2023 after an Ofsted report downgraded her Cavendish Primary School in Reading from “outstanding” to “inadequate.”

Julia Waters, Perry’s sister, welcomed the government’s decision, saying it was a long-overdue step.

Calling the previous system “dangerous and reductive,” Waters said single-word judgments were “the most visible feature of a fundamentally flawed inspection system.”

She added that as well as being unpopular with parents and teachers, “their simplistic impact has made the daily job of improving school standards harder for everyone except the bureaucrats.”

“The shame, injustice, and high-stakes consequences of an ‘inadequate’ judgement, together with the rude and intimidating conduct of the inspection itself, were the cause of my sister’s mental deterioration and suicide,” she said.

As a result of Perry’s death, Ofsted announced in January of this year that it would be pausing all school inspections for three weeks, to allow its inspectors to receive training on mental health awareness.

The education secretary said that Perry’s death had made the need for Ofsted reform “absolutely clear.”

“I think what Ruth’s death did do, and the campaigning work of Julia and the family, was to shine a light on the need for reform,“ Phillipson told Sky News, adding that ”we need a better system for families, for parents, and for children, but also for staff within our schools as well.”

Photograph of Ruth Perry attached to the fence outside John Rankin Schools in Newbury, Berkshire, England on Dec. 7, 2023. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Supporting Schools

Also as part of Monday’s announcement, the DfE said that where schools are identified as struggling, the government will put plans in place for improvements, which the department said was a shift away from a policy that favoured changing schools’ management.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, said his organisation was “pleased that the Government intends to place a stronger emphasis on supporting schools to improve where they need help, rather than defaulting to heavy-handed intervention or knee-jerk changes of governance structures.”

But in cases where there is serious concern, the government said it will intervene.

This could include issuing an academy order, which means the failing school would be transferred into the management of a multi-academy schools trust that has a track record of high education standards. In some cases, this could also mean a change of management.

‘Significant Benefits’

The previous Conservative government had rejected calls to end single-word assessments, arguing they had “significant benefits” and that an assessment system without overall effectiveness grades would fail to provide adequate information for parents.

Responding to Monday’s announcement, shadow education secretary Damian Hinds maintained his party’s earlier position, saying that while the system could be further improved, scrapping headline inspection grades is not in the best interest of pupils.

Hinds said that Ofsted already inspects schools based on the four key areas and provides accompanying narratives to the grades, “but the headline inspection outcome is a vital indicator for parents.”

PA Media contributed to this report.