Schools in chaos as headteachers 'fired like football managers' over inspections

20 November 2023 , 00:01

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Researchers warned there is a 'football manager culture' in schools (Image: Getty Images)

One-word school inspection ratings that lead to the hiring and firing of headteachers like football managers should be scrapped, a report has said.

The Institute For Public Policy Research warned teachers are being driven out of the profession by the stress caused by high-stakes Ofsted checks. In a report calling for an overhaul of the inspection regime, it said overly simplistic judgements - outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate - often trigger abrupt changes to management, fueling a “football manager culture”.

Despite the potentially dramatic consequences, the think tank said studies show the single-word assessments are unreliable and heavily dependent on which inspector turns up at the school gates. Instead it said “narrative-driven” reports that are specifically tailored to parents, guardians and pupils should be produced. It suggested three new ratings setting out what changes are needed: “school-led development”, “enhanced support” and “immediate action”.

Loic Menzies, a former teacher who wrote the report, said “A football-manager culture, driven by one-dimensional judgements dominates our education system. Today’s report charts a path to a future in which high standards are combined with a supportive and empowering infrastructure that helps teachers and schools to be the best they can be.”

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Efua Poku-Amanfo, research fellow at IPPR, said: “The status-quo isn’t working. Tactics like league tables and targets have run out of road, we need a new approach to helping schools improve. We propose a new system which empowers schools and teachers to innovate, utilising their experience and expertise.”

Ofsted has been under pressure from unions and Labour to abolish one-word Ofsted assessments following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry. The 53-year-old took her own life in January after being told her school, Caversham Primary, was being downgraded from Outstanding to Inadequate.

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John Stevens