I don’t know whether this is a real trend, or a case of only spotting the exceptions, but it appears that Ofsted may be doing a better job of celebrating schools. I saw on Twitter today another teacher celebrating their school’s report. They weren’t screaming about results or metrics though, they were chuffed that Ofsted were picking up on the joyous environment in the school. How wonderful.
As I say, I haven’t systematically studied Ofsted reports, but I feel like I see enough teachers happy with their reports to suggest a sea change. I appreciate teachers are bound to accentuate the positives, just as anyone would try to pick out the good from the bad in a review of their performance. Ofsted plays such a critical role in the British education ecosystem though, it could be a major step if they’re trying to change their tone and, as a result, going from being harbingers of doom to champions of positivity about education.
This isn’t about accepting underperformance or not calling stuff out, this is about recognising that most people are trying their best and are here for the right reasons. There is more than one way to be a catalyst for change, maybe Ofsted have realised that.
Commonplace 