Schools: Ofsted to scrap one-word ratings of schools

Ofsted are to scrap one-word ratings for school inspections.

Transcript

00:00Single word Ofsted ratings for state schools across England are to be scrapped immediately

00:07and are to be replaced by report cards. The report cards are hoped to improve standards

00:12and to help parents better understand a school's strengths and weaknesses.

00:16Previously, Ofsted, the inspections watchdog in England, rated schools with four headline

00:21ratings, which ranged from outstanding to good to requires improvement to inadequate.

00:27This change has been introduced by the government and has been welcomed by education unions

00:32and teaching professionals alike. Labour first promised to introduce this new form of assessment

00:37before the election, following the suicide of primary school headteacher Ruth Perry in

00:42January 2023, whose death was ruled a suicide contributed to by an Ofsted inspection. Julia

00:49Walters, Perry's sister, welcomed the reforms, which were originally rejected in April by

00:54the last Conservative government. In Wales, the grading system for schools was removed

00:59back in early 2022.