X Close

IOE Blog

Home

Expert opinion from IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society

Menu

Archive for the 'accountability and inspection' Category

Assessment in primary schools: reducing the ‘Sats effect’

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 7 June 2024

Students sitting at their desks taking exams. Credit: Cavan for Adobe via Adobe Stock.

Credit: Cavan for Adobe via Adobe Stock.

7 June 2024

By Alice Bradbury  

This is the final in a mini-series of blog posts about primary education from the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (HHCP) at IOE. Each post addresses key points that are included in a new HHCP briefing paper written to inform debate about education in England as we approach the general election. The four posts are:

  1. In the hands of new government: the future of primary education in England
  2. Children, choice and the curriculum
  3. Hands on learning: a progressive pedagogy
  4. Assessment in primary schools: reducing the ‘Sats effect’

Assessment plays a key role in any teacher’s work: through formative assessment, teachers understand what children can do and what they need to learn next. This guides how learning is planned and what is taught. However, the current assessment landscape in England is dominated by statutory, summative assessment, where the purpose of the assessment is not to help children learn, but to measure what they can do. This is one part of the education system which, as we in HHCP argue in our new briefing paper, needs a different approach. (more…)

The case for an immediate pause and reset in school inspection

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 24 November 2023

Teacher speaking to students sitting on the floor. Credit: Ashok Sinha / Adobe.

Credit: Ashok Sinha / Adobe.

24 November 2023

By Alice Bradbury and Jane Perryman

The current Ofsted inspection system for schools has generated such a level of mistrust, even perceptions of ‘toxicity’, that it needs extensive reform, and to be paused immediately while an alternative system is developed. This is the overarching conclusion of the Beyond Ofsted Inquiry, for which we provided the research.

We have spent several months collecting data from teachers, school leaders, parents, governors and key policymakers about the impact of Ofsted and options for reform, through a survey and series of focus groups. Based on this feedback and a review of the wider evidence base, the inquiry report proposes (more…)

How the outcry over a Reading test reveals wider problems with SATs

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 24 May 2023

6 year old girl sits with head on her hand and writes with a pencil

Credit: Phil Meech, UCL.

By Alice Bradbury on 24 May 2023

One of my daughters did Key Stage 1 SATs ‘quizzes’ last week, and she found it tiring and emotional. Some of her friends were in tears over how they did, and this is without the pressures of having your results used to appraise the whole school. Judging by the outcry over the Reading paper, the Key Stage 2 SATs week was especially tough for pupils, parents and teachers alike this year. But this concern over SATs goes much deeper than one difficult paper; many parents and teachers have simply had enough of what they see as a damaging system. (more…)

The link between the Key Stage 2 SATs and teachers’ anxiety levels

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 9 May 2023

Male teacher wearing yellow shirt poses question to a primary school class.

Credit: Phil Meech for UCL.

By John Jerrim on 9 May 2023

For quite a long time now, some groups have argued for the abolition of the Year 6 SATs (Standard Assessment Tests). Those who do so argue that they lead to a narrowing of the curricula, encourage schools to “teach to the test” and harm wellbeing across the education sector.

On this final point, in a previous blog I have discussed how evidence of a negative impact of the SATs on pupil wellbeing is pretty thin.

But what about the link between the SATs and the wellbeing of teachers? In a new academic working paper released today I take a look… (more…)

How do inspector characteristics link to short school inspection outcomes of primary schools?

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 7 February 2023

Primary school children's writing and drawings about the Victorians pinned to a classroom wall.

Credit: Phil Meech for UCL IOE.

By John Jerrim, Sam Sims and Christian Bokhove on 7 February 2023

This is the final post in a five part series on Ofsted inspections. Jump to: previous.

We have published a new academic paper investigating how Ofsted inspection outcomes vary across inspectors with different characteristics. This has been supported by the Nuffield Foundation and uses data we have pulled together on approximately 30,000 school inspections conducted between September 2011 and August 2019.

You can read a full version of our academic working paper along with our responses to some FAQs about the research.

This final blog in the series looks at the relationship between lead inspector characteristics and short inspection outcomes of primary schools. (more…)

What is the joint impact of all the characteristics of Ofsted inspectors that we examine?

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 7 February 2023

Suited man and woman wearing a jumper conversing in a classroom.

Credit: Phil Meech for UCL IOE.

By John Jerrim, Sam Sims and Christian Bokhove on 7 February 2023

This is the fourth post in a five part series on Ofsted inspections. Jump to: previous and next.

We have published a new academic paper investigating how Ofsted inspection outcomes vary across inspectors with different characteristics. This has been supported by the Nuffield Foundation and uses data we have pulled together on approximately 30,000 school inspections conducted between September 2011 and August 2019.

You can read a full version of our academic working paper along with our responses to some FAQs about the research.

This fourth blog in the series provides an illustrative example of how inspection outcomes differ across two lead inspectors with very different characteristics. (more…)

The relationship between Ofsted judgements and inspection team size

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 7 February 2023

By John Jerrim, Sam Sims and Christian Bokhove on 7 February 2023

This is the third in a five part series on Ofsted inspections. Jump to: previous and next.

We have published a new academic paper investigating how Ofsted inspection outcomes vary across inspectors with different characteristics. This has been supported by the Nuffield Foundation and uses data we have pulled together on approximately 30,000 school inspections conducted between September 2011 and August 2019.

You can read a full version of our academic working paper along with our responses to some FAQs about the research.

This third blog in the series explores how Ofsted inspection judgements are related to inspection team size. (more…)

How do Ofsted inspection judgements vary between OIs and HMIs?

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 7 February 2023

By John Jerrim, Sam Sims and Christian Bokhove on 7 February 2023

This blog is the second in a five-part series on Ofsted inspections. Jump to: previous and next.

We have published a new academic paper investigating how Ofsted inspection outcomes vary across inspectors with different characteristics. This has been supported by the Nuffield Foundation and uses data we have pulled together on approximately 30,000 school inspections conducted between September 2011 and August 2019.

You can read a full version of our academic working paper along with our responses to some FAQs about the research.

This second blog in the series explores differences between inspectors who hold different contractual relationships with Ofsted – Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and Ofsted Inspectors (OI). (more…)

Do Ofsted inspection outcomes differ between male and female inspectors?

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 7 February 2023

Man wearing smart suit smiles while consulting a booklet.

Credit: Phil Meech for IOE.

By John Jerrim, Sam Sims and Christian Bokhove on 7 February 2023

This post is the first in a five part series on Ofsted inspections. Jump to: next.

We have published a new academic paper investigating how Ofsted inspection outcomes vary across inspectors with different characteristics. This has been supported by the Nuffield Foundation and uses data we have pulled together on approximately 30,000 school inspections conducted between September 2011 and August 2019.

You can read a full version of our academic working paper along with our responses to some FAQs about the research.

This first blog in our series focuses on differences between male and female inspectors. (more…)

Giving voice to the under-served: how can we mitigate the Pandemic’s impact on people from minoritised groups who have disabilities or chronic conditions?

By Blog Editor, IOE Digital, on 15 December 2022

CICADA Stories, Bloomsbury Theatre

By Carol Rivas, Amanda Moore, Kusha Anand, Alison Wu and Ozan Aksoy on 15 December 2022

This post is adapted from a blog for Biomed Central.

Even before the pandemic, many people with chronic conditions or disabilities, particularly those from minoritised ethnic groups, faced obstacles in accessing or utilising networks of support, health and social care. During the pandemic, some of these obstacles increased disproportionately, and widened the inequalities gap.

Now, during Disability History Month (16 November to 16 December), it is instructive to consider the interplay of different intersecting factors that compromise good health outcomes when considering inequalities. For example, chronic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease increase vulnerability to COVID-19 and are disproportionately (more…)