HC Deb 05 July 2000 vol 353 cc393-402

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Dowd.]

7.25 pm
Mr. Edward Davey (Kingston and Surbiton)

I want to tell the House about a school that the Office for Standards in Education said was not improving, but the result of whose standard assessment tests—published yesterday—show remarkable and significant improvement.

I want to tell the House about a school to which Ofsted inspectors did serious damage after a visit lasting just five hours, but whose science SATs have improved by 40 per cent. in the past year: 85 per cent. of pupils in year 6 have attained level 4 or above, as opposed to 61 per cent. In that context, it is at or above the national average. In the past year alone there has been a 7 per cent. improvement in English SATs results: the proportion of pupils attaining level 4 or above has risen from 67 per cent. to 72 per cent.

Many schools throughout the country will not have agreed with the report and recommendations of their Ofsted inspectors, but in most cases it is likely that the inspectors' judgments were right. I will not contend tonight that there is anything wrong with a system of independent external inspection that seeks to raise standards in our schools; such a system is vital, and will inevitably mean that some schools are deemed to need special measures. But it is another matter to argue that the current Ofsted system is perfect and cannot be improved, and that Ofsted always gets it right. I believe that Ofsted must be reformed. There is mounting evidence for that, not least from last summer's report by our own Select Committee on Education and Employment, which investigated Ofsted in detail.

It is because I have more, and recent, evidence of the need for Ofsted reform that I requested the debate. As I hope to show, the inspectors got it wrong in the case of the recent Ofsted visit to Moor Lane junior school in Chessington. Perhaps worse, the process by which they got it wrong was itself seriously flawed. What was the result of Ofsted's mistakes? A shattering of staff morale, leading to the resignation of the six teachers who were not already due to leave.

The school will weather the storm. We are all determined that it will. It has great support from the community and from parents. The local education authority, rated by Ofsted itself as a "well-run authority", has already stepped in to protect the children's education from next September. I want to place on record my total confidence in the seconded head teacher, Mr. Tim Rome; I also want to reassure parents of my belief that Moor Lane was, is and will be a good school to which they can entrust their children's education. The purpose of the debate, however, is to share the lessons of the Moor Lane experience with the Minister, and those lessons suggest to me that a number of specific reforms are needed of Ofsted and its processes. I hope that, as a result of this debate, Ofsted will be seen to have been held to account for its mistaken processes, and that the school can put what has happened behind it.

As the Minister will know, there is a history to the case. It begins with the first Ofsted report, in 1995—a very positive report. The inspector said: Moor Lane School has many very good features and offers an outstanding atmosphere for learning. The school has worked hard to improve its provision and is beginning to reap the rewards. The Minister may be concerned to learn that the chief inspector, Mr. Chris Woodhead, said recently on television that Moor Lane should have pulled its socks up following the 1995 report. He did not appear to know that his own inspectors had been very positive about the school. Although the 1995 report identified areas needing improvement, as most reports do, it was largely very complimentary. It does Ofsted's reputation no good when the chief inspector is so ill informed, and shoots from the hip.

The trouble really started with the April 1999 Ofsted inspection. It originally recommended special measures for the school, but its conclusion was contested both by the local education authority and by the school. Her Majesty's inspectorate upheld the appeal, so the report recorded only "serious weaknesses". Moreover, Ofsted also partially upheld the school's view that the April 1999 inspection had not been conducted properly. At the time, I wrote to the chief inspector to express my concern that the original Ofsted report had got it wrong and had undermined the school. I only wish that I had pursued the matter even further at the time.

It is not surprising that the inspectorate and senior managers in Ofsted were worried by the 1999 report. Two extracts from the report show its inconsistencies. Paragraph 82 stated: On the basis of all the available evidence, including teachers' planning and the work in pupils' books, the overall quality of teaching in relation to the provision for English is unsatisfactory. Paragraph 83 stated that the overall quality of teaching in literacy hour sessions is good. It is at least satisfactory in nine-tenths of lessons and is good or better in almost half the lessons. That is rather inconsistent.

What happened after the report was published and the appeals against it had been heard? The school and the LEA got cracking and got down to work. Action plans were drawn up, and close monitoring was instituted. Kingston's chief inspector is Patrick Leeson, an excellent and highly regarded specialist, and he took a hands-on approach. A new chair of governors, John Heaman—a councillor and a former chair of education in the royal borough of Kingston upon Thames—was elected. Mr. Heaman is the former head of a teacher training school, with 28 years of experience in training teachers. In all, the LEA and the school took the April 1999 report—the one that said that the school had serious weaknesses—very seriously.

The House should know that the LEA believed that the school was making good progress after the April 1999 inspection. Neither it nor the school was complacent. It believed that the school still had some genuine weaknesses, but all parties considered that major improvements had been achieved.

The December 1999 LEA report on the school judged that 86 per cent. of the teaching was satisfactory. In March 2000, the LEA judged that more than 30 per cent. of the teaching was good, with weaker teachers performing satisfactorily. In terms of attainment, the LEA inspectors reported that there was evidence of improvement in English, mathematics and science in years 5 and 6. Yesterday's SATs results appear to bear out that view.

What did the Ofsted inspectors find in their May progress report visit? Officially, we do not know, as the written report has yet to be finalised and published. However, we know the main findings, as the inspectors gave an oral feedback to staff directly after the visit that precipitated the resignations. The inspectors' overall judgment was that the school required special measures.

The detail of some of the inspectors' oral feedback is interesting, as a report from the LEA to the Kingston council cabinet shows. The feedback suggested that there had been some improvement in standards, but that the school's attainments remained too low. That was not borne out by the SATs results. It revealed that 16 lessons were observed, of which seven were good, four satisfactory, and five unsatisfactory. It continued: All 12 class teachers were observed at least once and some twice during one afternoon and one morning. That is hardly a rigorous process.

The report went on: In unsatisfactory lessons: teacher expectations were too low, tasks were not suitably differentiated, and pace was slow. It is worth bearing in mind the fact that the school has above-average special educational needs. Its special education unit—Skylab—achieves tremendous results. The school does not have low expectations of its pupils. As to task differentiation, it is hard to comment at this juncture, but it is clear from the oral feedback that special measures were not justified.

Only five lessons were found to be unsatisfactory. The finding that special measures were needed contradicted the views of the LEA inspectors, the SATs examiners, and parents. Three obvious questions arise in connection with the Ofsted visit and report. They suggest that there is a need to reform the process by which the snapshot inspections—the brief progress reports—are made.

First, why did Ofsted not wait until after the SATs results were available and use them to cross-check its findings? That would have required a wait of only a few weeks, and would have saved Ofsted from getting egg on its face. If SATs results are expected in a short time, the Ofsted process ought to require that they be taken into account.

Secondly, why did Ofsted not refer back to the LEA, which had been working closely with the school in a concentrated and focused way for months? The Minister might say that Ofsted is not supposed to refer to the LEA about an inspection, as inspections are supposed to be independent and external. That is true, yet we are talking not about a full-blown inspection but about an extremely brief visit. It is possible that the Ofsted inspectors found five unsatisfactory lessons, but surely they should have sought corroborative data before pressing the nuclear button of "special measures". Such data would have backed up the limited information that they acquired for their findings.

I know that the Minister is not as anti-LEA as the leader of the Conservative party, and I am sure that she believes that LEAs have a role with regard to inspection. The staff at Kingston LEA knew the school very well. More significantly, from Ofsted's point of view, the LEA had worked well with Ofsted in the past. Kingston education authority has gone out of its way—and will do so again—to co-operate with Ofsted, and to work constructively with its inspectors. It is an LEA that Ofsted can trust.

As I said earlier, an Ofsted inspection of Kingston LEA a few years ago found it to be well run and one of the best in the country. Improvements have been made since then, so why did the inspectors not talk to the education authority? I strongly believe that Ofsted must reform the way in which it works. When inspectors make a brief visit and monitor lessons for only five hours, Ofsted ought to refer to other sources for corroboration.

My third question has to do with statistics. In a full-blown inspection, many lessons are monitored so that a representative sample can be used in a well-informed report. However, in an inspection that lasts only a morning and afternoon, only a tiny sampling exercise is possible. If the inspectors were familiar with statistics theory, they did not apply simple mathematics to their techniques and conclusions. It is remarkable that they should call for special measures after finding unsatisfactory five of the 16 lessons that they monitored.

Of course there are practical constraints on the time that can be spent on progress report visits, and on the number of lessons that can be monitored. However, should that not suggest that inspectors apply much greater caution and recognise the limitations of the inspection process? I hope that inspectors exercise rather more caution in future, especially with regard to brief progress reports.

There is a fourth reform that I should like to be made to the Ofsted process. Inspectors need to be more sensitive to the morale of teachers. It serves no purpose if Ofsted undermines morale. It certainly does not help children's education, or lead to higher standards.

The teachers at Moor Lane school had been working very hard, none more so than head teacher Jane Wright. She and her staff are dedicated, committed and caring, and they have the confidence of the community. Jane Wright announced her retirement before the Ofsted visit, and I believe that she can retire with her head held high. However, I do not consider that Ofsted recognised her work, or the genuine achievements revealed in yesterday's SATs results.

I am delighted that last summer's report by the Select Committee on Education and Employment suggested that Ofsted should do more when reporting inspection results, and that it should have a more "professional dialogue" with staff. I would go further, and say that Ofsted should have a more developmental role in terms of its links with, and feedback to, schools. It should not merely light the blue touchpaper and walk away; it must get involved with schools in post-report work. That would earn it greater respect and acknowledgement among the teaching profession.

I have concentrated on the direct lessons from Moor Lane school's experience with Ofsted. In the time that remains, I want to look briefly at some wider reforms that I consider should be made. To do so, I shall lean heavily on the work of the Select Committee.

The first reform is about accountability. I have received many letters and e-mails from parents who are dismayed with Ofsted and the way that it has undermined the school. Invariably, they ask to whom Ofsted is accountable. From its report, it is clear that the Select Committee believes that Ofsted is not accountable enough.

Although it is difficult to hold Ofsted and its individual inspectors to account for every individual report, the overall performance—the quality of inspectors, the processes involved in compiling reports, and so on—is a legitimate matter for the House. The Government should turn their mind to the question of how the inspectors can be inspected.

A key question for many people at Moor Lane—and, I am sure, at many other schools—is: who is guarding the guardians? Recommendations 49 to 59 of the Select Committee report contain many suggestions, such as an annual debate, preceded by evidence from Her Majesty's chief inspector to the Select Committee, annual meetings between the Select Committee and the chief inspector, confirmatory hearings for the appointment of the chief inspector, and quinquennial reviews of Ofsted. Those all seem sensible proposals. They would keep Ofsted in check and ensure that it was inspected, and that it improved.

I hope that the Minister does not think this is too controversial, but I wish to put on record my concern at the way in which Her Majesty's chief inspector reacted to the inspection report and the press accounts of it. Mr. Woodhead clearly did not do his homework well enough; he made inaccurate remarks about the history of the school. He has allowed the flawed system of progress reports to continue. In this case, the system has hit Moor Lane, but it may hit other schools if it continues. I think that Chris Woodhead should apologise to Moor Lane school, and I hope that when he reads this debate, he will feel that that is the right thing to do.

I wish to end on a note of praise for the school—praise for the teachers, the head teacher, the governors, parents and children for the way in which they have withstood a great deal of pressure following the April 1999 report. They have also had the media spotlight on them, and they have conducted themselves very well, in a mature way. They are determined to pull together with the local education authority and the Ofsted inspectors, when they arrive in September, to make sure that the quality of education at Moor Lane school continues to improve from what is already quite a high level.

This is a good school—the SATs results yesterday showed that. I pay tribute to all those in the school and the local education authority who made that possible.

7.42 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Jacqui Smith)

I congratulate the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) on securing this Adjournment debate on an issue that is obviously important to his constituency and, as he has pointed out, important in terms of the Government's objective of raising standards for all our children.

I was pleased that the hon. Gentleman acknowledged the Government's commitment to inspection as part of their strategy for raising standards in schools. Inspection provides a periodic external check on each school, helping to tackle under-performance and develop plans for improvement. Parents value inspection reports highly because of the inspectors' independence.

I speak with some understanding of Ofsted, having been on the receiving end of an Ofsted inspection before I was elected to Parliament. Observation of lessons is not designed to criticise teachers unjustly. Evaluation of the quality and impact of teaching is central to inspection. The evaluation of teaching is fundamental to the quality of education provided to pupils.

Moor Lane junior school was inspected by registered inspectors in October 1995, and the resulting report clearly set out the key issues for action. As the hon. Gentleman said, points of action always come out of Ofsted reports. However, in April 1999, registered inspectors visited again and found that, in their view, very little action had been taken on the key issues. Making use of the safeguard provided in law, Her Majesty's inspectors gathered additional evidence, and the need for special measures was not corroborated, although they confirmed that the school had serious weaknesses.

The school lodged a complaint about the conduct of the April 1999 inspection, which was partially upheld by Ofsted. Ofsted agreed that there had been an overemphasis, in drafting, on the negative statements in the report but, importantly, that did not result in any change in the report. It was made quite clear to the school and all concerned that serious weaknesses existed.

Inspectors judged that at Moor Lane junior school one third of the teaching was less than satisfactory. Standards were below average in English, maths and science. I know that the hon. Gentleman would not tolerate low standards for our children, and the Government certainly do not. Children at this school deserve a better deal.

In the monitoring visit in May 2000, Her Majesty's inspectors decided that the school had made no improvement and was failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education. We cannot allow a school that has been told that it has serious weaknesses to make no improvements. Action must be taken.

The hon. Gentleman asked whether it was possible to make such judgments on the basis of a brief inspection. In fact, the final monitoring visit in May 2000 was subsequent to the two previous visits—it was part of a programme of visits. Also, the criteria for deciding whether a school requires special measures are specified in law—that is, that the school is failing, or is likely to fail, to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education. That definition is explained in Ofsted's framework for school inspections and the accompanying guidance handbook for inspectors.

Whatever the type of inspection, the judgment that a school requires special measures is made only when there is an adequate evidence base to support it. In addition, the decision that a school requires special measures is a matter for Her Majesty's inspectors' professional judgment. Ministers, local education authorities—even very well-intentioned constituency Members of Parliament—cannot, and should not, intervene. The most important thing is that the standard of education at Moor Lane junior school and others in special measures improves as quickly as possible and that that improvement is sustainable. We must not fail these pupils.

I appreciate what the hon. Gentleman said about improvements in key stage 2 results this year. However, the 1999 Moor Lane key stage 2 results were for English 67 per cent. at level 4, for science 61 per cent. and for maths 52 per cent. That compares with a national average of 75 per cent. for English, 84 per cent. for science and 73 per cent. for maths in similar schools. I was pleased to hear that it looks as though this year's results are an improvement in English and science, and I hope that the maths results are equally good.

Moor Lane junior must now embed and sustain that improvement.

Mr. Davey

Will the Minister reflect on the fact that the yesterday's SATs results showed a large improvement, particularly in science? That must surely bring into question the findings of the Ofsted visit in May.

Jacqui Smith

As I pointed out, it is a professional decision for inspectors, based on the programme of visits that I have outlined, to determine whether a school should go into special measures. I ask the hon. Gentleman to reflect on the fact that the task of raising standards for our children should not and cannot be put off because people do not believe that there is sufficient evidence. Decisions have to be taken, and they have to be taken in a way that will support improvements in schools.

We recognise that inspections cause pressure, and we are working with the chief inspector to do what we can to keep that to a minimum. For example, we have shortened the notice period before inspections to avoid the lengthy build-up of pressure that teachers have told us is damaging. Ofsted's guidance for inspectors contains firm advice on the need to minimise stress for teachers.

To respond to the hon. Gentleman's concern that changes and improvements be made in Ofsted's operation, there will be increased feedback to teachers and head teachers about teaching quality, together with improved training for inspectors, new powers for Her Majesty's chief inspector to remove incompetent inspectors and strengthened complaints procedures, including final review by an external adjudicator.

It is not the fault of Ofsted, however, that a school finds that it is failing. In this case, it is the failure effectively to remedy the weaknesses identified by inspectors over the past five years that has resulted in the situation in which the school now finds itself. Many hundreds of primary and junior schools in England have been judged by inspectors to have serious weaknesses, or to be in need of special measures. None of them will have welcomed those judgments, but they have mostly tackled the problems and turned their schools around.

This is the first time that a large proportion of staff have refused to accept the judgment and resigned. It is regrettable that many of them did so before seeing the detail in the report. As the hon. Gentleman mentioned, it has yet to be published. I understand that the head and deputy resigned before the inspection took place, and that Kingston upon Thames local education authority acted fast to ensure that a new head teacher and deputy head were appointed for this September. What matters now is that Kingston LEA and the governing body are able to appoint a new team of talented and dedicated professionals to meet the challenges ahead and to make Moor Lane junior school a better place for both pupils and staff. That is already under way; three senior teachers have been appointed and further interviews will be held next week.

It is clear that to challenge and support our schools in raising standards, the Government need to engage in a range of measures. Such measures do not only involve Ofsted, although more than 1,000 schools have been given early warning that standards are slipping by being put into the serious weaknesses category by Ofsted. The vast majority—nearly 90 per cent.—act immediately to put things right. Those that show no improvement after a year, when HMI or additional inspectors pay a monitoring visit, are rightly placed under special measures.

Each school is responsible for providing the high standards that will allow its pupils to achieve their full potential. LEAs play a vital role, through challenge and support, in helping schools to raise standards. However, schools are responsible for their own improvement, although LEAs play a critical role in supporting governing bodies and head teachers in their efforts.

In the case of Moor Lane junior school, Kingston LEA provided much support for the school. It appointed additional governors when the school was put into the serious weakness category; and gave financial advice in response to the criticisms in the April 1999 report that procedures for financial planning were poor and that the school provided unsatisfactory value for money. The LEA provided monitoring of and challenge to target setting. However, the LEA and the school must work together on such matters and it is judged that the effect of the extra resources has yet to have a sustained impact on standards in the school.

Mr. Davey

I share the Minister's praise of the LEA. It behaved well both before and after the events. However, surely that shows that, as Ofsted carried out a short inspection and could monitor only 16 lessons, it should have referred back to the LEA before giving the verbal briefing that special measures would be recommended.

Jacqui Smith

There is a conflict between my statement as to the importance of an independent inspection regime and what the hon. Gentleman asks for. We need to recognise the independence of Ofsted. That is part of its value, and one of the reasons that parents value its inspections.

It is important to recognise that Ofsted plays only a part in what we need to do to raise standards. For example, LEAs and schools have access to the standards fund school improvement grant. The grant will support expenditure of more than £290 million in 2000–01, enabling schools and LEAs to support activity to raise standards.

Our policy to tackle failing schools is working. The number of such schools is falling and the average turnaround speed is faster; it stands at 18 months for schools coming under special measures since May 1997. That is down from 25 months for schools coming under special measures between 1993 and April 1997. Recent figures show that more than one third of primary and special schools turn around in 18 months or less. We are considering ways of strengthening our approach—for example, by increasing the rigour with which we challenge LEAs to identify and intervene in schools at risk at an early stage.

We are passionate about improving the education of pupils in under-performing schools, and have taken decisive action to tackle failure in our schools. Independent inspection is a key part of that. However, other Government action is crucial. We know that many schools are striving against the odds to improve—often with success. However, that success must be true for all schools if we are to ensure that all young people, whatever their background, can fulfil their potential.

I give my best wishes to the parents, the new staff and the governors of Moor Lane junior school for a sustained improvement in standards. That is what the hon. Gentleman and the Government want, not only for the children of Moor Lane junior school, but for all our children.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at four minutes to Eight o'clock.