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Latest Blog Posts
- Ofsted : unreliable, destructive, beyond repair December 5, 2019
- PISA: no victory for Michael Gove December 4, 2019
- Every learner matters and matters equally December 2, 2019
- No joke – a brutal class war December 1, 2019
- Child poverty – Conservative rule December 1, 2019
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Categories
Tag Archives: Ofsted
Ofsted : unreliable, destructive, beyond repair
Ofsted is clearly beyond repair, and the Election provides an opportunity to close it for good. This will help to stop the mass exodus of teachers from England’s schools. It will help schools concentrate on what really matters: children’s education … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability
Tagged accountability pressures, disadvantage, inspection, Ofsted
Primary school tests and children’s mental health
One study after another has shown the damage being caused by SATs to children’s mental health. In a survey by the ATL (now part of the National Education Union) in 2016, 89% thought that testing and exams were the biggest cause … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Uncategorized
Tagged accountability pressures, Ofsted, politicians, testing
Ofsted: notoriously unreliable
Ofsted judgments have never been trustworthy. There have been problems from the start. It should come as no surprise that none of the 46 schools wearing an Outstanding label which were inspected this January retained that label: 37 became Good, … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Social Justice
Tagged grammar schools, inspection, Ofsted
Urgent action on Ofsted
Ofsted are desperately trying to rebrand themselves, including the claim that they will rely less on test data and more on intelligent engagement with the school’s curriculum. There are good reasons to be sceptical about this, given the hit-and-run nature … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Uncategorized
Tagged inspection, Ofsted
Ofsted – a fairer future?
Rumours are circulating that schools in poor areas will stand a better chance of getting a good Ofsted grade, but where is this coming from? There are no such promises in the new draft Inspection Framework. In fact, page 11 shows … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Social Justice
Tagged Ofsted, poverty
Progress 8 and the North East
Schools in North East England are under attack again. According to Progress 8 scores, its schools are the least effective in the country, with the highest percentage coming ‘below the floor’. But Progress 8 is a flawed and misleading measure. … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability
Tagged accountability pressures, disadvantage, GCSE, Ofsted, Progress 8, youth unemployment
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Will anything but a boycott stop the tests?
The Reclaiming Schools network has played a significant role in exposing the damage caused by high-stakes testing, including our pamphlet ‘The Mismeasurement of Learning‘, widely circulated in the NUT and elsewhere, various series of blogposts carrying detailed analysis from specialist … Continue reading