Ofsted: Too Many Schools Give ‘scrappy Worksheets’ Out To Use For Homework

According to Michael Wilshaw, head of Ofsted, schools are issuing "substandard worksheets" instead of books for students to use as homework, due to concerns that students will not return the books the next day. Wilshaw urged headteachers to put a plan in place to fix this issue. On Monday, Ofsted launched its updated framework for inspecting schools, which is the most significant shift in education inspection to occur in over 20 years. The new framework will involve more frequent and shorter inspections of schools or colleges rated as "good." Subsequently, schools with "good" ratings will receive a shorter inspection every three years, rather than inspection every five years or more, as is the current standard. In the upgraded school inspection, the inspection length will rely on each school’s performance, and the new inspection will concentrate on leadership quality, with exceptional heads receiving recognition letters. Heads will be enlisted to join Ofsted teams, and seven out of ten inspectors will comprise service practitioners from excellent schools and colleges. All inspections, apart from early years inspections, will be accommodated in-house, and new monitoring teams will be established. The "starting assumption" for Her Majesty’s inspectors will be that each college or school is meriting and not degraded. The overhaul also includes short inspections that span one day and may extend for an additional day if the Ofsted team identifies any urgent or crucial issues. Lastly, Ofsted teams will examine whether designated leaders have recognized significant problematic aspects and have the capacity to tackle them as part of their inspection. Michael Wilshaw further added that too many schools were tolerating "scrappy worksheets," stating that this patronizes disadvantaged students and provides them with lower expectations. The educational overhaul received praise from Brian Lightman, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, for making the system fairer and more efficient. Nonetheless, he also cautioned that "good" schools that are likely to be upgraded or downgraded should not be kept in limbo.