BBC Breakfast highlights damage of one-word judgements on school communities.
Parents of King Edward VII School have spoken out about the devastating impact Ofsted one-word judgements have on school communities.
The comments, broadcast on BBC Breakfast on Monday 12 June, formed part of a wider piece looking at the implications of changes to the Ofsted inspection framework.
As a result of the changes, from now on Ofsted will revisit schools in England judged ‘inadequate’ due to safeguarding concerns but found to be good, or better, in other areas, within three months of the report being published.
But for schools such as King Edward VII School, which were judged ‘inadequate’ based on safeguarding alone prior to the fresh changes, the one-word grading placed it in a process of forced academisation. This is despite the school being rated ‘good’ in many other key areas.
Ever since parents, carers and pupils, together with the school and its Governing Body, have been kept in the dark about the consequences. This is because forced academisation means neither the school, its Governing Body or parents and carers have any say in decisions that will impact on the school or their children’s futures.
However, a ‘closed doors deal’ to join King Edward VII School with Brigantia Learning Trust in April spotted by an eagle-eyed parent led to a collective challenge. This led the Regional Director of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Advisory Board, who acts on behalf of the education secretary, to first defer, and then pause sponsorship activities.
King Edward VII parents speak with BBC Education Editor Branwen Jeffreys as Ofsted announces changes to the inspection system in England.
Speaking to BBC Education Editor Branwen Jeffreys prior to the ‘pause’ being announced, parent Mark Boyland said: “The one-word doesn’t just label the school, it labels the whole school community so there’s a lot of upset…and confusion and some anger but also mainly people not knowing what this…[is]…going to mean”.
Another parent, Emma Wilkinson, agreed: “This has just really cemented for me that the Ofsted report doesn’t really reflect what the school is and everything that the school is about.”
The parents’ concerns were in marked contrast to HMCI Amanda Spielman’s comments about the value of the current Ofsted inspection process. She told the BBC “that parents value the simplicity and clarity of the outcomes they get”.
The results of the recent fully graded inspection of King Edward VII are expected to be published shortly.
To read the BBC news article click here. To find out more about the changes announced to the Ofsted inspection framework in England click here.
Stop the academisation of King Edward VII School 