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The Effectiveness of the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) Inspection Process in England As an Accountability Mechanism

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The Effectiveness of the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) Inspection Process in England As an Accountability Mechanism The Effectiveness of the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) Inspection Process in England as an Accountability Mechanism and its Influence upon Whole School Improvement in English Maintained Schools Barbara J Vann MA Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania April 2005 School of Education Acknowledgement I thank my supervisors, Professors Bill Mulford and Reynold Macpherson, and mentors for all their hard work and persistence in supporting me in the completion of this thesis. I thank Dr Macpherson in particular for having faith in my ability. I thank my three sons for their love. I dedicate this thesis to Lord James Callaghan who died in April 2005. - II - Declaration: I certify that this thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any institute, college or university, and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Signed ,p# T .. Barbara Jane Vann Copyright: ©2005 Barbara Jane Vann. This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. - 111 - Abstract The research questions addressed in this thesis are: How effective is the OFSTED process as an accountability mechanism? And, does whole school inspection lead to school improvement? The literature of school effectiveness and school improvement is reviewed followed by an outline of the evidence of school improvement offered by OFSTED from 1996 as a context for the inspection outcomes and subsequent improvement or not, in four case study schools. An attempt is made to link the OFSTED mantra of "Improvement through Inspection" to the inspection process as experienced by the schools in the study. In addition, a brief context is provided that outlines the systemic change processes and accountability processes that were prevalent in the education systems of the largely English-speaking world at the time of OFSTED's inception and more recently. A comparison is made between OFSTED and the international examples before detailing the research on OFSTED's effectiveness and the government response. The ethnographic methodology used is justified, aware of the potential difficulties attached where the researcher is also the headteacher of one of the four case study schools. Results from the case studies allow discussion of the differences in approach from the headteachers to the inspection process and the possible consequences of their actions. Other issues arising from the case studies include: the relevance of the timing - IV - of the inspections within the evolution of the OFSTED process; the situation of the schools at the time of their inspections; the relationships between stakeholders within the schools, particularly the apparent marginalisation of the governors from the process; the communities' perceptions of the schools and the personal disposition of the headteachers towards the OFSTED process. Inconsistencies in the OFSTED process as experienced by the study schools were found to include the lack of credibility given to the OFSTED process by some teachers and senior staff in the schools and the manner in which the schools acknowledged the validity of the inspection judgements. The thesis concludes by using the research evidence from this study to pose tentative conclusions about how effective the OFSTED inspection is as an accountability process and whether whole school inspection leads to school improvement. It reviews the constraints and limitations of the evidence and indicates areas for further research. -v - Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1 • Introduction and purpose of the study 1 • The research questions 4 • Limitations of the study 6 • Definition of terms 8 • Summary 9 • Chapter outline 9 Chapter 2 Literature Review - School effectiveness, school improvement and the Office for Standards in Education 13 • Introduction 13 • Defining and tracking the development of school effectiveness and school improvement 14 • How do schools improve? 23 • School effectiveness/improvement and inspection by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) 27 • The role of the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) 29 • Evidence of school improvement 35 • School improvement linked to inspection Processes 44 • Acti_on planning 49 • Summary 52 Chapter 3 The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) 54 • Introduction 54 • Context 55 • Definition of accountability 58 • Accountability across the world 68 • New Zealand 66 • USA: Kentucky 69 • Scotland 73 • Australia: New South Wales 76 • England: the development of OFSTED 78 • Research on OFSTED's effectiveness 91 • Conclusion 93 Chapter 4 Methodology 95 • Introduction 95 • A qualitative ethnographic and subjectivist approach 97 • Developing case studies 101 • Interview 102 • Participant observation and documentary analysis 104 • Ethical considerations and dilemmas as potential sources of bias 106 • Personal dynamics 109 - VI - • Political 119 • Data collection 120 • Data treatment 124 • Reliability and validity 125 • Reflections and summary 128 Chapter 5 Case Study: School A 133 • Introduction 134 • The school 136 • Notification of inspection 138 • Pre-inspection 141 • Confirmation 144 • Preparation 149 • Initial visit 151 • Perceptions of the inspection: daily log 160 ~ Day one 160 ~ Day two 163 ~ Day three 168 ~ Day four 172 ~ Day five 174 ~ Feedback: oral feedback (2), to the head and deputy 174 ~ Feedback: oral feedback (3), to the Governors 178 ~ Between the oral feedback and the draft report 178 • The draft report 182 • Final report 184 • Action planning 185 • Summary and conclusions 204 Chapter 6 Case Studies of Schools A (second inspection), B (two inspections), C, and D 207 • Introduction 207 • School A, second inspection, 1998 207 • School B, inspected in 1995 & 1998 214 • School C, inspected 1996 221 • School D, inspected 1995 228 • Decisions made by school A (1995), school B (1995, 1998) and school C (1996) in the immediate post inspection period 232 • Summary and conclusions 236 Chapter 7 Differences in Inspection and their Consequences 238 • Introduction 238 • Personal disposition of the headteachers towards the OFSTED inspection. 239 • Behaviour of the headteachers 244 • Timing of the inspections within the evolution of the OFSTED process 249 • The situation of the schools at the time of their inspections 251 - VII - • The relationships between stakeholders within the schools and the apparent marginalisation of the governors 253 • The communities' perceptions of the schools 257 • The inconsistencies in the OFSTED process as experienced by the case study schools 259 • Improvement through inspection 264 • Action planning 268 • Summary and conclusions 275 • Summary 275 • Conclusion 277 Chapter 8 Summary of findings, conclusions, implications, and recommendations for further study 279 • Introduction 279 • Summary: Method 280 • Summary: Findings 283 • Effectiveness as an accountability mechanism 283 • Period of notice of inspection 285 • Preparation for inspection: documentation, staff and governors 286 • Contact from the registered inspector and pre-inspection processes 288 • Relationship of the Registered Inspector with staff and governors 289 • Inspection 290 • Reports 292 • Action planning 294 • Conclusions 295 • Implications 296 • Recommendations for further study 300 References 301 - VIII - List of Tables Table 1 Characteristics of Effective Schools Page 17 Ch2 Table 2 Internal conditions necessary for School Page 25 Ch2 Improvement Table 3 OFSTED, Improving areas and areas Page 31 Ch2 warranting attention. Table 4 Percentage of less than satisfactory lessons Page 35 Ch2 seen by OFSTED in 1993/4 and 1997/8 Table 5 Measure of schools improvement in the Page 42 Ch2 annual report of HMCI Mike Tomlinson 2001 Table 6 Changes in inspection since 1993 Page 47 Ch2 Table 7 The Education Reform Act and accountability Page 79 Ch3 Table 8 The Education (Schools) Act (1992) and Page 81 Ch3 accountability issues Table 9 Framework for Continuous Improvement Page 85 Ch3 Table 10 Characteristics of Qualitative Case Studies Page 102 Ch4 Table 11 Participating schools and respondents Page 117 Ch4 Table 12 Summary of the strengths and weaknesses Page 131 Ch4 of the methodologies chosen for this study - IX - Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter will describe the purpose and significance of this study for the researcher and for the research community, pose the research q'uestions, outline some limitations of the work and define terms that are used. It will conclude with an outline of each chapter. Introduction and purpose of the study As a practitioner, the researcher took the view that she could simultaneously investigate the two research questions (see below), improve her own leadership services to her school, and improve her knowledge by undertaking this reflective study. This thesis develops work described in an earlier study (Vann, 1994) offered at Masters Level. The experiences described in the earlier dissertation were of the early years of headship in a school which would have been described as 'failing' had the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) inspected the school between 1990 and 1994. The work was a reflection of the way that the author, as headteacher, learned from her many mistakes in the early stages of her headship. It documented the way that the school culture and ethos of the school changed so that
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