The volume of work covered in the planned new Ofsted inspection framework is not “realistic” to carry out in one and a half days, leaders involved in trial inspections have warned.

Ofsted is trialling its inspection report cards in 240 schools across the country in preparation for a full rollout in November.

Tes has spoken to leaders who volunteered to take part in the pilot scheme, who have given the first indication of how the inspectorate’s upcoming framework feels on the ground.

New Ofsted inspections ‘need more time’

Manny Botwe, the headteacher of Tytherington School in Cheshire who is also president of the Association of School and College Leaders, took part in a test inspection this month.

“The trial visit reinforced something I’ve long believed - that one and a half days isn’t enough to make a reliable judgement under the proposed framework,” he told Tes.

“The trial team was great, but even with a strong team, there’s only so much you can do in such a short amount of time. It would be more sensible to be realistic about the scope of inspection.”

This is a concern that inspectors have voiced themselves, telling Tes earlier this year that “corners will have to be cut” to fit in all of the different things in Ofsted’s proposed framework.

“It would be a tough ask to expect inspectors to arrive at consistent and reliable judgements on a five-point grading scale across so many different areas in such a short period of time,” Mr Botwe said.

Warren Carratt, CEO of Nexus Multi Academy Trust, which runs 17 special schools, took part in a pilot inspection at the end of March and shares Mr Botwe’s concerns.

“The volume of what was covered in the inspection was a concern. This is an issue for not only school leaders but also inspectors. There is a huge amount of preparatory work,” he said.

School leaders working with inspectors

Both Mr Botwe and Mr Carratt noted that there were positive aspects to their trial inspections, too.

The ASCL president said a major advantage for him was the chance to “co-construct the inspection process”.

“On the first day of the trial visit, we had a conversation with the inspectors about what they still needed to see to form a fuller picture of the school,” Mr Botwe said. “This gave us the opportunity to guide the focus of the second day, ensuring they saw the things that were most relevant to our school.”

If more inspections allowed school leaders to work with inspectors to shape the focus of the visit, Mr Botwe added, the results would be “far more accurate and reflective of the school’s true strengths and areas for improvement”.

Mr Carratt also said there was a ”greater onus on school leaders to help structure the inspection”, with “more opportunity to direct to our strengths in schools”.

Ofsted ‘grateful’ for feedback

An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We are grateful to all the schools that have taken part in a trial inspection.

“These visits have provided important feedback on our proposals, which will be reflected in our consultation response and finalised inspection framework and methodology.”

Tes revealed this week that Ofsted is carrying out a “substantial” rewrite of its inspection toolkits following concerns raised by the sector.

Ofsted has said that its response to the consultation on its planned inspection changes will be now be published “later than hoped”, as Tes revealed last week.

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