School Inspection Results Post Reply

[janee]

According to a new study, Ofsted gradings are unreliable.  This is something which many teachers already know but, seemingly, many parents choose schools on the basis of the Ofsted report.

Case 1: the head of a school I worked in clashed with the lead inspector - the result was an "inadequate" rating which was not supported by judgements on the wider work of the school.

Case 2: one local school was given a poor Ofsted ratings because the lead inspector was settling a score with the headteacher, who had previously been asked to advise another school on how to improve, this had had a knock on effect on the inspector's position.

Case 3: it has been exposed that, in order to gain "good" or "outstanding" gradings, one academy chain, given notice of Ofsted inspection, brings in additional staff from other schools to give the impression that things are better than they really are.

Question: given that Ofsted is unreliable, how should parents decide where to send their children?

[windmill26]

It has been clear for a while that Ofsted reports and ratings are not 100% reliable and parents should not take them as "the oracle" when choosing a school (many do).When my son was at primary school the kids and parents were told in advance about the inspection.The kids were told to be on their best behaviour and the parents were told to make sure the kids were wearing the right uniform etc...so you can just imagine what kind of prep goes on "behind the scene" to get a Good or Outstanding that often does not fully match reality.