Two West Midlands schools have been given glowing ratings following some of the first inspections since a major shake-up of the way Ofsted judges schools. One-word ratings for schools have been scrapped as part of changes by the Labour Government.
Previously, education settings were given one of four possible rankings, ranging from very good to very bad. These were: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.
But these overall ratings have now been scrapped in a bid to provide a broader picture of school performance, rather than leaving them stuck with a single tag which can be damaging for reputations. The terms outstanding, requires improvement, good and inadequate are still used but for a range of areas rather than an overall grading.
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Ofsted has carried out a number of inspections under the new system, publishing some of its first new ratings. Schools are now judged in four areas: quality of education; leadership and management; behaviour and attitudes; and personal development. Primaries are also judged on early years provision.
Two West Midlands schools have achieved the best possible score of outstanding across all areas. They are Montgomery Primary Academy in Sparkbrook and St Bartholomew’s CoE Primary in Penn, Wolverhampton.
Their reports were published recently and parents and other members of the public can read them in full online by searching the Ofsted website. Critics argued the previous longstanding system had serious flaws and the situation at schools was often too complex to be summarised by a single word, which could do serious reputational harm to those deemed to be failing.
Added to this, full inspections generally only take place every few years, meaning schools were left with ratings for years even though major changes may have been made in that time. The new system aims to provide a truer picture for parents.