In September 2019, Ofsted will change how it inspects schools. Earlier this year the regulator held a public consultation on its proposals for its new inspection framework. Alongside others, we deemed the official format of the consultation too narrow to be meaningful so we decided to think bigger. Drawing heavily on the views of students and in collaboration with the social enterprise States of Mind, we spent some time thinking about how the education system could be transformed from coercive to nourishing. This formed the basis of our submission to the Ofsted consultation, which you can read below.
The link 'Breaking the Silence' is a powerful letter written by students who carried out a research project with States of Mind. It attracted some press coverage in The Times Education Supplement.
COVERING LETTER TO HEAD OF OFSTED
Dear Ms Spielman,
In light of the Ofsted framework consultation, the social enterprise States of Mind and the network Psychologists for Social Change have sought a range of opinions with the aim of composing a response. In particular, the views of young people have been prioritised. They are, after all, the people most directly impacted by Ofsted’s current policies.
We felt it was particularly important to involve young people as, to our knowledge, no attempt has been made to elicit the views of young people around their experience of Ofsted, the impact of school inspections and their emphasis on standardised assessments. This is unacceptable. We can think of no other context where failing to gather the views of service users would be deemed adequate in a democratic society.
To this end, States of Mind conducted a project, Breaking the Silence, that provided a platform for young people to discuss issues related to education and mental health. Since January, focus groups including 80 young people have been conducted, to elicit views about the impact of Ofsted on their education. Students taking part asserted that their “voices and experiences are constantly overlooked and neglected... we believe that it is our right to tell the true story of how the current system is failing us.”
The students have written a letter, communicating their deep concerns about the negative impact of Ofsted inspections on students. They also put forward psychological healthy ways of doing things differently. While the students were keen to respond to the official Ofsted consultation document, this was not possible as the questions posed are extremely narrow, presented in inaccessible language and do not provide space for the young people to contribute their ideas. The document is not fit for purpose. We question the extent to which it represents a genuine attempt to gather views.
The students want their letter to be considered by Ofsted as part of the consultation. In addition, they wish to exercise their democratic right to be heard and request an audience with Ms Spielman and representatives from the Department of Education, to discuss their views.
Their letter is also attached to this email. Please also consider this PSC blog post http://www.psychchange.org/blog/visioning-a-new-education-system-reduce-exam-tyranny-and-empower-teachers-and-pupils and the attached letter from a parent and member of PSC as our joint submission to the Ofsted consultation framework.
As a result of the aforementioned work, we call for the following -
1 - Decisions about and control of assessment to be handed over to schools, giving them freedom to work with young people, families and communities in a way that meets their needs
2 - The focus of education should be individually tailored personal development. We need to teach children, not content. Co-production should be used in designing every school strategy for personal development
3 - Ensure that education promotes lifelong learning and experience of real-world scenarios. It should provide opportunities to develop interpersonal skills and explore individual strengths
4. Make schools truly democratic institutions by allowing student's voices to inform and guide high level decisions about what students need from their education.
Finally, children and young people’s mental health and emotional distress is an issue that is closely tied to the education system. In March last year, over 1400 people signed PSC’s open letter responding to the green paper “Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision”. This included a critique of the green paper for its failure to consider the impact of high stakes testing on children and young people’s mental health. We want to take this opportunity to again urge the architects of the education system to acknowledge the impact that the current punitive system plays in young people’s distress, alongside the social and economic causes such as poverty, inequality and exclusion.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours, in anticipation
Psychologists for Social Change and States of Mind
TESTIMONY FROM A PARENT AND PSC MEMBER
Firstly, I want to say that there are great people in the school system which is great and from a parent’s perspective reassuring. I understand that teachers are overloaded with work and do not have enough time to care for the children in the way they want to. In my view, the continued underfunding of the educational system and the underpinning values of Ofsted is what makes the school system what it is.
As a parent I feel very removed from being able to influence a very important part of my children’s growing up. I can speak to my kids’ individual teachers but they do not have much influence themselves or room to change. I can speak to their school’s head who is under pressure to get funding and for the school to perform and therefore rarely listens.
My sons’ school was inspected by Ofsted a couple of weeks ago and my only opportunity to voice my concerns about the inspection regime was in a tiny ‘any other comments’ box at the end of the parent questionnaire. The questionnaire for the pupils didn’t even allow free text comments and only asked multiple choice questions about their school. There was no chance for the pupils to say what they think is important to make a good school.
My kids use most of their days at school in a system which is based on values that are not aligned with what I think is valuable to society.
The result of the Ofsted inspection at my son’s school was that the school requires improvement, in particular, for the early years. The format of the report does not link the inspectors’ findings nor to any research/evidence that the things they observed are detrimental to the children’s education, which for me is another problem. These findings will have huge implications for the school and for the children in it.
THE RADICAL EDUCATION RESPONSE
PSC also supports the submission sent in by the Radical Education Forum, which you can read on their Tumblr.
The link 'Breaking the Silence' is a powerful letter written by students who carried out a research project with States of Mind. It attracted some press coverage in The Times Education Supplement.
COVERING LETTER TO HEAD OF OFSTED
Dear Ms Spielman,
In light of the Ofsted framework consultation, the social enterprise States of Mind and the network Psychologists for Social Change have sought a range of opinions with the aim of composing a response. In particular, the views of young people have been prioritised. They are, after all, the people most directly impacted by Ofsted’s current policies.
We felt it was particularly important to involve young people as, to our knowledge, no attempt has been made to elicit the views of young people around their experience of Ofsted, the impact of school inspections and their emphasis on standardised assessments. This is unacceptable. We can think of no other context where failing to gather the views of service users would be deemed adequate in a democratic society.
To this end, States of Mind conducted a project, Breaking the Silence, that provided a platform for young people to discuss issues related to education and mental health. Since January, focus groups including 80 young people have been conducted, to elicit views about the impact of Ofsted on their education. Students taking part asserted that their “voices and experiences are constantly overlooked and neglected... we believe that it is our right to tell the true story of how the current system is failing us.”
The students have written a letter, communicating their deep concerns about the negative impact of Ofsted inspections on students. They also put forward psychological healthy ways of doing things differently. While the students were keen to respond to the official Ofsted consultation document, this was not possible as the questions posed are extremely narrow, presented in inaccessible language and do not provide space for the young people to contribute their ideas. The document is not fit for purpose. We question the extent to which it represents a genuine attempt to gather views.
The students want their letter to be considered by Ofsted as part of the consultation. In addition, they wish to exercise their democratic right to be heard and request an audience with Ms Spielman and representatives from the Department of Education, to discuss their views.
Their letter is also attached to this email. Please also consider this PSC blog post http://www.psychchange.org/blog/visioning-a-new-education-system-reduce-exam-tyranny-and-empower-teachers-and-pupils and the attached letter from a parent and member of PSC as our joint submission to the Ofsted consultation framework.
As a result of the aforementioned work, we call for the following -
1 - Decisions about and control of assessment to be handed over to schools, giving them freedom to work with young people, families and communities in a way that meets their needs
2 - The focus of education should be individually tailored personal development. We need to teach children, not content. Co-production should be used in designing every school strategy for personal development
3 - Ensure that education promotes lifelong learning and experience of real-world scenarios. It should provide opportunities to develop interpersonal skills and explore individual strengths
4. Make schools truly democratic institutions by allowing student's voices to inform and guide high level decisions about what students need from their education.
Finally, children and young people’s mental health and emotional distress is an issue that is closely tied to the education system. In March last year, over 1400 people signed PSC’s open letter responding to the green paper “Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision”. This included a critique of the green paper for its failure to consider the impact of high stakes testing on children and young people’s mental health. We want to take this opportunity to again urge the architects of the education system to acknowledge the impact that the current punitive system plays in young people’s distress, alongside the social and economic causes such as poverty, inequality and exclusion.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours, in anticipation
Psychologists for Social Change and States of Mind
TESTIMONY FROM A PARENT AND PSC MEMBER
Firstly, I want to say that there are great people in the school system which is great and from a parent’s perspective reassuring. I understand that teachers are overloaded with work and do not have enough time to care for the children in the way they want to. In my view, the continued underfunding of the educational system and the underpinning values of Ofsted is what makes the school system what it is.
As a parent I feel very removed from being able to influence a very important part of my children’s growing up. I can speak to my kids’ individual teachers but they do not have much influence themselves or room to change. I can speak to their school’s head who is under pressure to get funding and for the school to perform and therefore rarely listens.
My sons’ school was inspected by Ofsted a couple of weeks ago and my only opportunity to voice my concerns about the inspection regime was in a tiny ‘any other comments’ box at the end of the parent questionnaire. The questionnaire for the pupils didn’t even allow free text comments and only asked multiple choice questions about their school. There was no chance for the pupils to say what they think is important to make a good school.
My kids use most of their days at school in a system which is based on values that are not aligned with what I think is valuable to society.
- How to bring up a child to be responsible for themselves and be independent thinkers when their time at school is full of rules/regulations and punishment without any ‘excuses’?
- How to bring up your child to think about the wider good of society when they are continuously being encouraged to compete against their peers for golden stars/certificates/achievement marks and the system encourages them to accept that some pupils will ‘earn’ privileges?
- How to bring up your child to believe in themselves and value their own and others’ differences when they are in a system that values conformity and devalues anyone that is ‘different’ (you only get a certificate if you have conformed to the school’s expectations)
- How to bring up a child without anxiety and stress when they are so often tested and measured and made to feel that they are not allowed to fail?
The result of the Ofsted inspection at my son’s school was that the school requires improvement, in particular, for the early years. The format of the report does not link the inspectors’ findings nor to any research/evidence that the things they observed are detrimental to the children’s education, which for me is another problem. These findings will have huge implications for the school and for the children in it.
THE RADICAL EDUCATION RESPONSE
PSC also supports the submission sent in by the Radical Education Forum, which you can read on their Tumblr.
