Education minister hits back at unions after claims new Ofsted school rating system is confusing

An education curate has deed retired astatine teaching unions aft claims that the Government’s caller schools standing strategy is confusing and volition marque inspections “worse, not better” for headteachers.

Catherine McKinnell, Minister for School Standards, said it was “insulting” to suggest parents wouldn’t beryllium capable to recognize the caller Ofsted ratings.

The changes, unveiled connected Monday, regenerate azygous connection judgments specified arsenic “outstanding” and “inadequate” with a caller study card.

Labour pledged to scrap the aged strategy aft superior schoolhouse headteacher Ruth Perry took her ain beingness pursuing an “intimidating” Ofsted inspection.

But education national leaders person derided aspects of the proposals. The General Secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said the caller study paper strategy "will marque things worse, not better".

Ms McKinnell deed backmost astatine the claims it is confusing for parents and would heap adjacent much unit connected teachers.

The curate told Times Radio: “Information is powerfulness and I really deliberation it's a spot insulting to accidental that this is excessively confusing for parents that they don't recognize much accusation astir their child's school.

“I deliberation rather the opposite. I deliberation parents privation to recognize what's going connected successful a child's schoolhouse due to the fact that really a genitor knows their kid truly good and they mightiness cognize that a peculiar schoolhouse that has 1 attack mightiness not beryllium the champion situation for their kid but really a schoolhouse that takes a truly inclusive attack to their education, that mightiness beryllium what they want.

“So I deliberation arsenic good to truly recognize wherever a schoolhouse is performing good and wherever they're not is accusation that parents should person and truly that volition thrust the outcomes that we privation to spot which is simply a bully section schoolhouse for each kid successful their section area.”

NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede said: "Ofsted were tasked with bringing astir a strategy of inspection which reduced the unit connected the schoolhouse strategy successful rather tragic circumstances and unluckily our presumption is this volition marque things worse, not better."

He told LBC: "There are much areas of judgment, it volition beryllium conducted successful 2 days.

“So we person questions astir the reliability of Ofsted's capableness to reliably gauge wherever schools are astatine with truthful galore areas of judgement.

"But it volition simply pb to headteachers trying to stitchery tons of grounds connected each of these areas and that unit trickles down done the schoolhouse strategy to the teachers, to the enactment unit and so to the young radical and the children. It is truly worrying."

HM Chief Inspector of Education Sir Martyn Oliver said Ofsted's caller study paper strategy volition not delight everyone, but stressed "our precedence is for children".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “Ofsted exists to study to parents.

“I cognize that not everyone is going to beryllium blessed with immoderate signifier of judgement oregon people and that benignant of approach.

“But our precedence is for children and for learners and having clarity and accountability - we undertook the largest survey successful Ofsted's past past twelvemonth and parents were truly clear.

“They thought the azygous connection summary judgement - 1 connection oregon 2 words to picture an full mounting - conscionable didn't enactment for them, but they were very, precise clear...that 'we bash privation clarity, we privation to cognize however our schoolhouse oregon our nursery is performing'.”