School accountability reform

Every child and young person in England should have the opportunity to succeed, no matter what their background is, their circumstances or the neighbourhood in which they live. That mission to spread opportunity will be delivered through this government’s drive for high and rising standards in every school, enabling all children and young people to achieve and thrive.

Looking across the system, there is much to be proud of, and there have been areas of significant improvement, thanks to the tremendous effort and dedicated professionalism of our leaders, teachers and staff, with support from parents and families.

But, despite the successes, the reality is that too many have missed out. Children with special educational needs and those who are disadvantaged or vulnerable, are too often let down. Too many young people are not thriving at school or not even attending. Too many schools are stuck in a cycle of underperformance over many years. We need to do better.

We need a better accountability system – one which sets clear and ambitious expectations, drives improvement, and spreads excellence.

Our reformed accountability system must put children at the centre, but also work for parents, carers and schools. Our proposed accountability framework will be more demanding, with a clearer focus on what matters most in ensuring a great education. It will increase transparency and access to high-quality information through Ofsted’s new school report card. It will be backed up by robust and effective intervention which will deliver the improvements needed.

One of my first acts as Secretary of State was to put an end to the use of single headline grades in school inspections, with immediate effect. They were too blunt for parents and no longer effective in driving outcomes for children. I also announced plans to introduce new richer and sharper reporting through a report card system, which will apply to all areas Ofsted inspects.

Ofsted report cards will provide clearer and more granular information about the performance of providers. In schools, they will also help drive a self-improving system - identifying aspects in which a school needs support to improve, and any in which a school can support others.

In the future, we want to go further – to provide a picture of performance in between Ofsted school inspections. That is why we are proposing school profiles - an accessible one-stop shop for information on schools, incorporating Ofsted report cards but also presenting a range of up-to-date performance data and other information that matters to parents – all in one place.

Where pupils are being let down, we will ensure the right intervention is in place. We will never shy away from requiring structural change where it is needed, given the role strong trusts have played in driving up standards, but we should also look to utilise a greater range of intervention approaches over time. We need to deploy the right tools for the right job. That is what our proposals are about.

Our new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will play an increasingly pivotal role - starting with stuck schools - drawing in excellence from the sector and enabling bespoke interventions designed to help secure urgent improvement in schools that need it. And we will go further - in a truly self-improving system, RISE will have a universal role - signposting schools to the most effective practice and bringing them together to share knowledge and build success.

The government has set out proposals for change through this consultation, and Ofsted’s parallel exercise. We need your thoughts and expertise, so that together we can shape an improved accountability system. Please do send us your views.