school leaders survey 2015 | Page 9
On a more positive note the Government's commitment
to reduce the burden of inspections appears to have
struck a chord with school leaders. We have seen a
steady decline in the levels of dissatisfaction towards
Ofsted and the inspection regime since we first
launched this survey with the biggest fall appearing in
the last 12 months.
In 2013 68% of school leaders expressed dissatisfaction
with Ofsted. This fell to 63% in 2014 but our 2015 survey
registered the largest fall - less than half (43%) of school
leaders are now dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with
the school's inspection regime. When asked about their
thoughts on the new common inspection framework 28%
Ofsted and inspections
Q: How do you feel about the new common inspection framework
(including a common set of judgements) for early years, schools and FE?
Base: 1190 respondents
10%
20%
0%
40%
30%
50%
2%
Very
positive
26%
Positive
49%
Neither
negative or
positive
14%
Negative
3%
Very
negative
6%
Don't know/
unsure
said they were positive or very positive, compared to
17% feeling negative or very negative.
The changes to the inspection framework this autumn,
with a greater focus on professional dialogue and a shift
towards placing more of an emphasis on pupil progress
rather than just achievement will have certainly helped
ease tensions. Also the announcement earlier this year
that Ofsted was taking steps to improve the quality
and consistency of inspectors and bringing oversight
in-house, rather than outsourced to independent
providers, may have gone some way towards improving
perceptions of the inspection regime.