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Ofsted inconsistency
The threat of negative Ofsted reports is deterring headteachers from taking on challenging schools, says the head of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. Photograph: Barry Batchelor/PA
The threat of negative Ofsted reports is deterring headteachers from taking on challenging schools, says the head of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. Photograph: Barry Batchelor/PA

Ofsted lost in 'mire of inconsistency', says ATL teaching union chief

This article is more than 9 years old
Mary Bousted claims regulator incapable of reforming itself and inspection regime lottery reducing quality of education in schools

Mary Bousted, the general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, has accused Ofsted of being lost in the mire of inconsistency and being incapable of reforming itself.

Bousted told delegates at the closing session of the ATL annual conference on Wednesday that the current inspection regime is a lottery that depresses the quality of education in schools.

ATL is not alone in having concerns, she said, citing a recent report by the Policy Exchange thinktank, which said that flipping a coin was more reliable than an Ofsted inspector's judgment of a lesson.

But the regulator's attempts at reforms following recent criticisms – such as the announcement that it will carry out shorter, more frequent visits for good schools – were unconvincing, Bousted said after the conference.

"The idea that inspectors should spend even less time in schools is completely wrong – the quality of judgment and the quality of data will be even more weak," she said.

Schools were still being visited by inspectors who had little relevant expertise, she said, citing a primary school that was recently inspected by a college PE instructor.

There was also a lack of transparency surrounding Ofsted, she said, adding: "You can't find out which school your Ofsted inspector last inspected or what their quality control is.

"[The verdict] is a lottery which depends on which Ofsted inspection team turns up – one that has a clue, or one that is clueless."

Standards of education in the country's schools would have been much higher if teachers had not been working in fear of inspections, Bousted continued, warning that the threat of negative Ofsted reports was deterring headteachers from taking on challenging schools.

"Just when we need the best school leaders in schools of high challenge or high deprivation the Ofsted sword of Damocles hangs over any senior leaders foolish enough to think that they will be given sufficient time to undertake the tricky work of turning around schools with seriously entrenched problems.

"Ofsted has ensured that leaders taking these positions significantly raise their risk of committing career suicide."

Bousted said taking on additional responsibilities such as early years provision had overstretched Ofsted, which has become "confused about its core purpose and lost in the mire of its own inconsistency".

The National Union of Teachers and National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers will both propose motions stating that Ofsted is not fit for purpose at their annual conferences at the weekend.

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