The announcement follows engagement with the sector and family of headteacher Ruth Perry, after a coroner's inquest found the Ofsted inspection process had contributed to her death
Single-headline Ofsted grades for schools will be scrapped with immediate effect, the Government has announced. Previously, Ofsted awarded one of four headline grades to schools it inspects: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.
Single-phrase grades "fail to provide a fair and accurate assessment of overall school performance across a range of areas and are supported by a minority of parents and teachers", the DfE said. The change "delivers on the Government's mission to break down barriers to opportunity", the DfE added. The Government also currently intervenes where a school receives two or more consecutive judgments of "requires improvement" under the "2RI" policy. With the exception of schools already due to convert to academies this term, this policy will change. The Government will now put in place support for these schools from a high-performing school.
"This Government will make inspection a more powerful, more transparent tool for driving school improvement. We promised change and now we are delivering." Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, said: "We have been clear that simplistic one-word judgments are harmful and we are pleased the Government has taken swift action to remove them. We are equally pleased that the Government intends to place a stronger emphasis on supporting schools to improve where they need help, rather than defaulting to heavy-handed intervention or knee-jerk changes of governance structures.
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