A commission of experts has warned that the current system of school accountability is not working.

Tes has revealed today that the new Accountability Commission led by the NAHT headteachers union has found that league tables and targets and Ofsted inspections are driving teachers out of the profession and holding back improvement.

Here are six ways England’s current school accountability system is doing more harm than good, according to the new report.

1. It is driving teachers out of the profession

The report warns that the current accountability system is driving teachers out of the profession in two ways. 

It warns that the system is losing leaders directly as a result of a perceived drop in the standards their schools are achieving.

The commission also warns that the school accountability is driving people out of the profession indirectly because of the “unmanageable workload” that is caused by it.

2. It deters school leaders and teachers from going where they are needed most

School leaders and teachers are put off teaching in schools serving more challenging communities because they do not believe they will be treated fairly by the inspectorate or performance tables, the report warns.

It highlights research by the Education Policy Institute in 2016, which found evidence of a “clear and systematic negative correlation between school intakes with more disadvantaged children and more favourable Ofsted judgements”.

The commission report adds: “We will continue to struggle to close the attainment gap between pupils from poorer families and their more affluent peers unless we incentivise, not discourage, great people from working in the areas that need them most.”

3. It narrows the curriculum and encourages teaching to the test

The panel warns that the way schools are held to account is skewing their decisions and narrowing their curriculum.

It highlights how schools drilling pupils in preparation for Sats has become increasingly common with some schools operating revision classes and practice tests during the school holidays to prepare 11-year-olds for an assessment.

The panel also warns that use of narrow data to define a school’s effectiveness is “impeding a broader evaluation of the effectiveness of a school’s curriculum in meeting the needs of its pupils”.

4. It diverts attention away from teaching and learning

The significance of getting a good Ofsted outcome and the fear of not being “Ofsted ready” drivers too much activity in too many schools, according to the report.

It highlights how tracking pupil progress and predicting outcomes have become an integral part of some schools to ensure they are prepared for Ofsted. 

The commission says that too much time can be spent scrutinising data and too little on the leadership of learning. It adds: “Moreover, the need to be ‘Ofsted-ready’ and have evidence prepared creates significant workload burdens.”

5. It incentivises selfish behaviour

One of the most damning findings of the report is that the way in which schools are held to account encourages self-interest over the good of the wider school community.

It found that there are few incentives for strong schools to lend their strength to those that are struggling, if by doing so it weakens them at their next inspection.

And it claims that the over-reliance on pupil performance data to judge school effectiveness means there is “little system incentive to put the interest of children with more complex needs first, for example in admissions or exclusion decisions when doing so might result in an apparent dip in performance”.

The report says: “At times, our system requires leaders to be brave and courageous in order to do the right thing for young people in the communities they serve. This needs to change so that doing the right thing is also the easiest thing to do.”

6. The current system limits ambition

The commission also warns that the high-stakes nature of inspection has helped to create a compliance culture in many schools.

Their report says this acts as a disincentive for people to innovate and can limit ambition. It adds: “Securing a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ judgement from Ofsted has become a goal in itself, rather than simply being seen as a snapshot description of where the school is on their journey to excellence.”

The report adds that an “outstanding” grade does not represent “the pinnacle of educational excellence - if it did, arguably no one should ever achieve it. Yet at present, there are few incentives to look beyond it.”