Headteachers have voiced concerns that education consultants are advertising courses costing hundreds of pounds to prepare schools for the proposed Ofsted inspection framework before it has even been finalised.
Ofsted is currently running a consultation on a new inspection framework and report card system, which includes proposals to assess schools across nine different areas and introduce a five-point grading scale.
The consultation is open until the end of next month and the first inspections under the new system - if it is rubber-stamped - are more than seven months away.
However, training and CPD courses are already being offered by consultants to help schools prepare for these major changes, for prices of up to £300 a time.
CPD on Ofsted’s proposed framework
The chief of the Ofsted Academy, which is responsible for training inspectors, has previously warned that schools can fall “prey” to education consultants, which can provide resources and courses that involve “explaining Ofsted and producing tick lists for schools”.
Headteachers warned earlier this year that the inspectorate’s plan for a new framework would lead to an “army of expensive consultants” and a glut of “how-to guides” as schools try to adapt to the new expectations.
Tes has evidence of education consultants already advertising and running courses for leaders to prepare for the new framework, less than two months after the draft proposals were announced.
School leaders have contacted Tes to express concern about their schools being approached by consultants.
One consultancy company, JMB Education, is advertising in-person day courses to prepare for the proposed inspection framework.
The courses, which cost £295, are running from this month, and aim to help leaders “stay ahead of changes by refining current processes in a way that naturally transitions into the 2025 framework”.
In an email seen by Tes, JMB Education’s courses are advertised as “ongoing support and resources to keep your school inspection-ready” and “avoid ‘attention needed’ ratings by identifying risks early”.
Another consultant is charging £225 to train school leaders in May on how to achieve “exemplary” practice. “Exemplary” would be the new top grade under Ofsted ‘s proposals.
Another organisation, The National College, is running online events for leaders on how they can adjust their leadership strategies, curriculum planning and school-wide policies to align with Ofsted’s “new expectations” and “strengthen” their school’s inspection readiness.
It said that its courses will help leaders to “develop a clear action plan to enhance inspection readiness” and that ”early preparation is essential to ensure a successful inspection outcome”, as shown in an email seen by Tes.
JMB Education declined to comment. National College had not provided a comment at the time of writing.
Consultants ‘fuel the accountability fire’
Mark Chatley, CEO of Coppice Primary Partnership, said the fact that education consultants are already advertising courses for the proposed inspection framework before Ofsted has finished the consultation and testing phase ”fuels the accountability fire for me”.
He added: “Schools and school leaders feel vulnerable because of the potential impact of a negative Ofsted outcome, and this can lead to making decisions which they wouldn’t always do.
“Unfortunately, this also creates a market and someone will invariably fill it, and the pressure will mean that some leaders will buy in that support.”
Keziah Featherstone and Caroline Barlow, co-chairs of Headteachers Roundtable had warned that the new framework would lead to schools facing consultants offering “how to guides” as “how-to guides” as leaders tried to adapt to the new expectations.
They said: “While we are all invested in improvements to accountability and committed to positive engagement with the difficult process of change, it was our experience and profession based knowledge that led to our warnings of increased workload and pressure on schools as a result of the current proposals.”
They said these concerns have now been borne out “as consultants pivot to exploit natural anxiety about the new framework”.
And Seamus Murphy, CEO of Turner Schools, said it was “very concerning” that consultants were “seeking to provide advice that is based on at best a nebulous understanding of the new framework”.
Union concerns
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said the fact that some schools are already looking to consultants to prepare for a new inspection framework shows the “intense and high-stakes pressure they feel they will be under”.
“We would not recommend that schools begin preparation too soon, or commit to costly services, particularly when the consultation remains live,” Mr Whiteman said.
“There is a very long way to go yet and there is a real risk they will be preparing for a framework that ends up changing very significantly before it is implemented.”
In a recent poll by the NAHT, more than nine in 10 of its members rejected Ofsted’s plan for inspection report cards.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the advertising of CPD courses and training at this stage is “a sign of just how high-stakes the inspection system is”.
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, warned that consultancy work on Ofsted inspections can often ”drive up workload and anxiety among staff rather than abate it” because the guidance is of “limited usefulness in helping schools to manage the process of being inspected”.
An Ofsted spokesperson said: ”Our proposals for reform could change following the consultation, so we would advise all headteachers to say ‘no’ to any consultant claiming to be able to tell them now what inspection will look like from November.
“Consultants often have limited or inaccurate knowledge of inspection, which can increase leaders’ and staff’s workload unnecessarily. Providers will be much better served by using the free, official Ofsted materials rather than someone else’s version of what Ofsted might have said.”
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