Gove allies say ‘Sixties mired’ Ofsted should be scrapped

Pressure is mounting for Ofsted to be overhauled or scrapped as supporters of Michael Gove accuse school inspectors of being trapped by 1960s “progressive” approaches to learning.

Civitas, a right-of-centre think-tank, is to call for a new inspectorate for academies and free schools in a pamphlet to be published soon. It will argue that the Education Secretary’s wish for schools to develop their own approaches to teaching is being held back by child-first orthodoxies among inspectors, who are stifling innovation.

Policy Exchange, another right-leaning think-tank set up by Mr Gove himself, also plans to call for wholesale changes at Ofsted in a forthcoming report. It will say that the current inspection regime places disproportionate pressure on teachers, while its judgments are too inconsistent.

The two inquiries reflect growing frustration within the Department for Education (DfE) over complaints from heads and teachers about Ofsted reports that appear to contradict the thrust of government policy. Some protest that inspectors have criticised teachers for talking for too long in lessons.

Others say inspection teams have demanded more group work, independent learning and interaction among children, which critics associate with the “child-led” philosophy of education that Mr Gove is trying to stamp out.

The criticism is not aimed at Sir Michael Wilshaw, the Chief Inspector of Education, who has said that Ofsted does not look for a template lesson. The fire is directed instead at the thousands of individual inspectors.

Ofsted has been the target of attacks from the Left and from teaching unions since its launch in 1992. Such calls for its reform from the Centre Right are relatively new and potentially ominous.

Civitas is a leading supporter of Mr Gove’s switch to a curriculum emphasising core knowledge and wants free schools and academies to lead a break from the “child-led” philosophy.

However, David Green, its chief executive, said many of these schools were reluctant to experiment in approaches to the curriculum and teaching for fear of being criticised by Ofsted. Only schools rated outstanding by the body can win funding to train new teachers, meaning, Mr Green said, that current approaches were likely to continue, instead of traditional teacher-led lessons.

Civitas will call in its pamphlet for head teachers at academies and free schools to set up their own inspection service, modelled on the Independent Schools Inspectorate, which it says is less judgmental. It will follow this with a survey of free schools to gauge support for a break from Ofsted.

Mr Green said: “I would personally like to see it scrapped and start again with something much closer to [the] inspectorate or something that emphasised peer-to-peer personal development. Ofsted carries too much baggage with it from the central compliance era.”

Policy Exchange, which Mr Gove founded in 2002, will publish a separate report in March calling for a less punitive and more consistent approach to inspections. It has asked teachers to submit examples of contradictory Ofsted judgments in a note headed: “Is the schools inspectorate fit for purpose?”

These criticisms were echoed by a charity that trains head teachers to lead poor communities. Heath Monk, chief executive of Future Leaders, said: “Head teachers still fear that, if Ofsted go and see a lesson where actually the teacher is just talking for a lot of the time, that will be criticised.”

He added: “Michael Wilshaw is very clear that there is no prescribed Ofsted teaching method, and yet we still hear from schools that inspectors are looking for certain things from a previous framework that is no longer there.”

The DfE would not respond but Ofsted denied it was blocking innovation in schools.

A spokeswoman said: “Ofsted is there to champion the right of all children to a good education. It’s important for parents there is a single, independent body focused on raising standards and holding all schools to account. Nine out of ten providers tell us they are happy with their inspections.”

She added: “Ofsted has been inspecting academies since the first ones were established a decade ago. Far from stifling innovation, inspectors are increasingly asking questions on how academies are using their new-found free- doms to innovate and improve outcomes.”

Mr Gove claimed yesterday that his reforms were bearing fruit as results tables showed a significant drop in the number of schools failing to achieve his minimum standard in exams. Analysis of last summer’s results showed 154 schools did not reach the threshold that at least 40 per cent of pupils must achieve a C grade or higher in five GCSEs, including maths and English. A year earlier the number was 195.