Ofsted to roll out ‘report card’ inspections in school overhaul amid backlash

Ofsted, the UK’s schools watchdog, has announced plans to introduce a new “report system” inspection system in a major school revamp regardless of the strong objections from school leaders and union bodies.

According to Ofsted, the recently recommended report card system that will be rolled in November, will give parents more details about children’s progress.

The significant overhaul has been brought about by the tragic suicide of Reading headteacher after an Ofsted inspection.

Resultantly, after scrapping the two-word grading system consisting of “inadequate” or “outstanding”, a new five-grade structure will be implemented across the six different inspection areas, including behaviour, attendance, and inclusion.

In response to the new grading system, England's schools watchdog has drawn criticism from headteachers and The National Education Union (NEU), dubbing it “Nando’s style grading” that will further worsen child safety and progress.

According to Prof Julia Waters, Mrs Perry’s sister, “The proposals will pose a serious risk to the health and wellbeing of teachers and school leaders.”

She continued, “This is not a new system. This is a cosmetic rebranding, tweaking and expansion of the same unreliable and punishing system as the one before. It still includes many of the risks that teachers and headteachers fear, without significant benefits or safeguards.”

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, also censured the Ofsted decision.

“We completely reject that a Nando’s style 1-5 grading scale is good for children or parents. Report cards won’t help keep children safe, boost good teaching or motivate learning.” Kebede said.

On the contrary, new report inspections have won support among parents. As reported by an independent YouGov poll, 7 out of 10 parents favour report card inspections.