All those with a concern for education in this country have until 28 April to complete the survey that Ofsted has issued about its future model of inspection. If my experience is anything to go by, I advise setting aside acres of time to answer its 64 questions. I answered 43 and then began to lose the will to live, especially as this took me over 90 minutes.
Why so long? You need to refer back time and again to the consultation document and the toolkits to answer many of the questions. The survey is all of a piece with the toolkits, being bloated and burdensome.
How many hard-pressed teachers will have the time to answer this barrage of questions? How many can afford to say what they really think when Ofsted has the power to punish dissent? The survey is so long and complicated that one wonders whether it was deliberately constructed to deter responses: “We gave you the chance to comment but you didn’t take it.”
One question asks about reducing any “unintended consequences” of the proposals. Ofsted would be better paying attention to the highly predictable consequences of its proposals, which will significantly increase the workloads and the stress of all the professionals who are subject to them.
Frank Coffield
Emeritus professor of education, UCL Institute of Education, London University
