Ofsted’s grade fixation fails pupils and teachers

The chief inspector has launched a consultation on the new framework for the inspection of schools and colleges (Ofsted plans overhaul of inspections to look beyond exam results, 16 January). While we welcome most of Ofsted’s new inspection framework, it is doomed to fail unless Ofsted drops its flawed four-point grading system.Schools and colleges will remain fixated on fear-inspiring grades. Institutions labelled “outstanding” will obsess with keeping it, stifling innovation. Schools “requiring improvement” or dubbed “inadequate” will lose pupils, staff, funds and morale, undermining their ability to improve. The overwhelming power of a single number will continue to create personal and professional casualties. The fraught relationship between Ofsted and teachers will remain and there will be no reduction in teacher workload.