Sector declares opposition to Ofsted split

Proposals to split Ofsted into two separate inspectorates of education and children’s care would make the government’s policies on children with special educational needs, early years services and looked-after children unviable, sector leaders have warned.

The call is the principal recommendation in an education select committee report on the role and performance of Ofsted, published on 17 April. The report also calls for the creation of two new positions within the Department for Education (DfE) — a chief education officer and a chief children’s care officer — in an attempt to reflect Ofsted’s remit in department policy.

The recommendations have been criticised by children’s services union Aspect and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS).

Eleanor Schooling, chair of the ADCS’s standards, performance and inspection committee, said coalition policy, particularly for children with SEN, the early years and those in care, requires a single inspectorate.

“Much of the government policy points towards more multi-agency working between social care and education services,” she said.

“This should be supported by a single inspectorate that examines how well multi-agency services are provided. While there have been problems with the inspection of children’s social care, there have been improvements more recently and we do not believe a separate inspectorate would bring further improvements to the process.”

Aspect general secretary John Chowcat said splitting Ofsted and creating two senior positions within the DfE would further erode the Every Child Matters agenda. “Although you can argue that a more specialised inspectorate is closer to a particular field, you would still, in the current context, be taking another step away from the holistic approach of Every Child Matters,” he said.

Malcolm Trobe, policy director at the Association of School and College Leaders, said there is “great logic” in looking at dividing the responsibilities of Ofsted, saying the organisation is now “too big”, but he added that the two entities would have to work very closely together. “There is a big risk when you create two completely separate organisations that communications on common issues can suffer,” he said. “It would be essential that there is some sort of overarching view that brings the two areas of Ofsted together.”
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The report argues that a single children’s inspectorate is too large to function effectively and greater specialism is necessary to give people increased confidence in inspections.

New approach

Graham Stuart, chair of the committee, said a radical shift in how inspection operates is necessary through a more “proportionate, specialist and focused approach”. “Ofsted has, of course, made a great impact on the quality of provision across the country, but the evidence clearly shows that smaller, more focused organisations could do even more so,” he said.

The committee’s recommendations come after confirmation that chief inspector Christine Gilbert will step down at the end of June, prompting a search for her successor.

A senior figure, who did not wish to be named, said the appointment could play a pivotal role in the future of the organisation, stating that it has “reached a crossroads” in terms of whether it takes an Every Child Matters approach, as envisaged by the last government, or a more separated approach, of the kind proposed by the select committee.

“The appointment could push us in one direction or the other,” the source said. “If it is down the school standards route at the expense of everything else, I think it will be a bad thing for children.”

If the government takes up the committee’s recommendations, Gilbert could in any case be eventually replaced by two chief inspectors.

The source also highlighted the need for the new appointee to have a realistic expectation of what local authorities can achieve on heavily reduced budgets over the coming years.

“There is a need to be very realistic about the economic environment and to develop a culture that is much more open to conversations about what standards are being delivered. That requires more professional judgement and less tick-boxing.”

Key requirement

Chowcat added that the removal of the requirement for self-evaluation forms to be completed, which comes into force in September, carries the risk of schools not facing up to areas where they need improvement.

“The future model being consulted on rests heavily on schools retaining effective self-evaluation – it’s a key requirement for the system,” he said. “With its removal, light-touch inspection is going to have some challenges. The chief inspector must highlight and monitor what’s going on and take action accordingly.”

Another overriding consideration is Ofsted’s reduced budget, which Chowcat said will make it difficult to retain regular and quality inspections.

He said the chief inspector must also be aware of the pitfalls of outstanding schools no longer requiring routine inspection. “Outstanding quality may be down to a particular leader or management team,” he said. “If they fall ill or leave, an outstanding school can decline relatively quickly.”

ADCS president Matt Dunkley praised Gilbert for nurturing an inspectorate that was open to suggestions from the children’s sector. “There needs to be a clear relationship between inspection judgements and processes and sector-led improvement, taking into account the findings of the Munro review and wider changes to the sector,” he said.

RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE ROLE OF OFSTED

    * Government should split Ofsted into two inspectorates; one for education and one for children’s care, but with two separate chief inspectors
    * Inspectorate for education should be responsible for education and skills including nurseries, schools, colleges, secure estate education
    * Inspectorate for children’s care should be responsible for care services including children’s homes, adoption services, childminders and Cafcass
    * Education inspectorate should provide recommendations to drive better outcomes for children and learners
    * Children’s care inspectorate should actively support service improvement
    * The two inspectorates should share back office functions to reduce costs
    * Government should appoint two senior advisers within the Department for Education; a chief education officer and chief children’s care officer, to support the chief inspectors
    * Ofsted website needs considerable revision to increase accessibility
    * Chief inspectors should ensure reports are parent-friendly and accessible to young people, particularly those in care
    * Parents and carers need to be more engaged in inspection process
    * Increase percentage of inspectors serving as senior practitioners on secondment from the frontline
    * Improve transparency of training and background of inspectors
    * Chairs of governors should attend feedback sessions after inspections
    * Government should urgently improve the voluntary childcare register
    * Improve consistency of sixth-form and college inspections
    * Government should articulate, as clearly as it has done for schools, inspection policy for other settings
    * Government should clarify what four inspection categories for schools will include.