Is 'flawed' Ofsted failing schools?

That was the question posed by shocked parents when Leigh North Street Junior School, in Leigh, was put into special measures by Ofsted amid concerns over standards.

The last report on the school a year earlier rated it as good.

Ofsted’s verdict on Leigh North Street was swiftly followed by nearby Leigh Wesley Pre-School being given an “inadequate” rating.

As a result, governors announced plans to close the preschool because they didn’t have the resources to make the necessary improvements.

Following a campaign by parents to keep the pre-school open, the decision was reversed.

However, some people have criticised Ofsted for the way it inspects schools, claiming inspectors look at narrow criteria which do not take account of the success of schools across the board.

The inspectorate dropped the “satisfactory” rating earlier this year, so schools who would previously have been in that category are now falling into special measures.

Judith Bailey, chairman of governors at Leigh North Street Junior, said: “They’re not looking at all the other things that are makes a school good in terms of pupil development.

“The previous Ofsted found the children outstanding in terms of their social development, but that seems to be given very little weight by inspectors these days.

“It said it was a happy school and a friendly school at the last inspection, and that didn’t change.”

Gerri Bennett, deputy headteacher at Westborough School, in Macdonald Avenue, Westcliff, agrees with the analysis.

She said: “Schools should, of course, be judged, they are using public money, but Ofsted’s entire judgment is based on rigid data held on the school and not everything is taken into account.

“Last year, when we were inspected, we were in the middle of building works, our teachers were teaching in corridors and didn’t have access to IT temporarily.

“They weren’t prepared to take that into account.”

The school was rated “satisfactory” in April 2012 – but today it would have been put into special measures as a result.

James Courtenay, Southend councillor responsible for schools, supports Ofsted’s strict regime, however.

He said: “With over one third of our schools inspected under the new framework, our experience overall is that inspectors’ judgments agree with those of the school.

“I can’t blame Ofsted for not being interested in things like temporary buildings – we have a duty to deliver a good standard of education to our children at all times.

“I think it is fair to say that getting good or outstanding ratings in schools is tougher than it used to be.”

He added: “This, coupled with the reclassification of satisfactory to requires improvement, makes for a challenging inspection regime for schools.

“But the inspection regime should be challenging and I support the Education Secretary’s desire that all children deserve to go to a school that is good or outstanding and that long- term satisfactory isn’t good enough for our children.”

He added the council works with schools to make sure as many of them as possible are good or outstanding category.

An Ofsted spokesperson added: “Sir Michael Wilshaw (the chief inspector of schools) said that all children deserve to go to a good or better school and that belief is at the heart of our work at Ofsted.

“Ofsted’s revised framework, introduced in September 2012, ensures our inspection arrangements will further challenge schools to ensure a good education is provided for all our children.

“It concentrates on pupil’s achievement, the quality of teaching in the school, the behaviour and safety of pupils at the school, and the quality of leadership and management.

“The framework raises expectations and also focuses on the importance of teaching to give children the education they deserve.

She added: “The new grade ‘requires improvement’ replaced the ‘satisfactory’ grade because satisfactory should never have been more than a staging post on a school’s journey towards providing a good or outstanding education for all children.”