There is a lot of debate and confusion surrounding Ofsted and its value in determining the quality of schools in the UK, so who exactly is Ofsted and what role do they play in telling parents the difference between local schools. Visit cognassist.com For Improve Ofsted Grade!
Ofsted is the Office of Standards in Education and is a branch of the Ministry of Education within the government. They are responsible for determining the level of quality in schools, childcare facilities, teacher training, and even adoption. Therefore, the breadth of their responsibilities is enormous making them a very important part of the education sector.
So how does Ofsted measure school quality? Well, there are 2 important things they do for every school – they do inspections; and they provide reports with grades, just as students are graded on the quality of their work.
Inspection
when inspecting schools, Ofsted’s current system requires them to visit for 2 – 3 days which is generally done every 3 years or so. While schools will be aware of the general inspection times, they will only be given a few days’ notices to prepare for the inspection, ensuring it is as fair and accurate as possible.
Report
Ofsted grade schools on a scale from 1 (Excellent) to 2 (Good) to 3 (Satisfactory) and 4 (Inadequate). Ofsted inspectors also have the option of putting the school into what is known as a “Special Action” which means urgent repairs are required. In this case, the next examination will not wait 3 years, the school will continue to be monitored to ensure the repair is fast. Assistance is provided to schools in special actions by local authorities and Ofsted itself to help bring schools back to the standard they deserve.
Ofsted’s strengths are broad and they provide an important service to UK schools and parents of children attending. They are the only method parents have to get an independent view of the school, and be able to compare one school with another fairly.