CfEY joins forces with the NAHT to call for an end to the Outstanding grade in the TES

Writing in the TES, James Bowen of the National Association of Head Teachers and Loic Menzies, Chief Exec of CfEY have set out the damaging effects of the Outstanding grade and called for a reformed grading system saying:

“We know that the unintended consequences of league tables and Ofsted are damaging wellbeing and driving teachers out of the profession and this needs to stop. But we must continue to strive for educational excellence”

By refocusing its efforts on identifying which schools need ‘immediate intervention’, which need ‘additional support’ and which are above a threshold and best helped through peer support, the inspectorate could continue to serve its crucial role in monitoring and improving our education system, without some of the harmful side-effects.

“Regular peer support is a better way of helping schools to reach world-class status once they have crossed the “good” threshold” James and Loic point out, whereas the outstanding grade detracts from the real substance of education and the intrinsic reasons for doing things, undermining heads’ professionalism and teacher motivation.

Todays article builds on previous work by CfEY and the NAHT including:

• Testing The Water 
• The NAHT’s commission on school improvement
• This blog by Loic Menzies

This proposal was also one of the key election manifesto priorities set out in advance of the December 2019 election by The Centre for Education and Youth. You can read the other evidence-based proposals here.