England's education landscape is undergoing a significant transformation as the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) discontinues its one-word ratings for state schools. This change, effective from September 2, 2024, marks the end of a system that has been in place for nearly two decades.
The current grading system, which categorizes schools as outstanding, good, requiring improvement, or inadequate, will be replaced by more comprehensive "report cards" starting September 2025. This transition period will see a hybrid system in place, where schools receive separate ratings for quality of education, behavior and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, stated, "Single headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools. Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing – that's what our report cards will provide."
This reform comes in the wake of intense lobbying from teaching unions and a tragic incident involving Ruth Perry, a head teacher who took her own life in January 2023 following an Ofsted inspection that downgraded her school. An inquest found that the Ofsted process contributed to her suicide, highlighting the intense pressure the current system places on educators.
The new report cards are expected to offer a more nuanced view of school performance, potentially including information on special needs provision and pupil absence rates. The government is exploring the possibility of incorporating truancy levels into Ofsted inspections, addressing concerns over rising absence rates. In the 2023-2024 academic year, almost 21% of pupils in England were persistently absent, missing at least 10% of classes.
"The current inspection model not only produces simplistic, reductive and unreliable judgments that are of little or no use to schools, or parents, it does real harm to the health and well-being of leaders and their teams and undermines both recruitment and retention."
While the changes have been welcomed by many in the education sector, they have also faced criticism. Damian Hinds, the shadow education secretary, argued that the headline inspection outcome is a vital indicator for parents and that its removal could lead to reduced accountability.
The reform extends beyond the rating system. Annual reviews of school safeguarding will be introduced, and a review of the national curriculum is underway. These changes reflect a broader shift in England's approach to education assessment and improvement.
As the education system adapts to these changes, the focus remains on providing a clearer, more comprehensive picture of school performance while supporting the well-being of educators and students alike. The success of this new approach will be closely watched by educators, parents, and policymakers in the coming years.