A “significant number of children” have been “opted out of more orthodox patterns of education”, Ofsted has warned, as it expressed misgivings over the use of “flexi-schooling” and part-time timetables.
The watchdog has published its new-look annual report, the first since Sir Martyn Oliver became chief inspector and since headline grades were scrapped in September.
In place of the usual pages and pages of statistics on the performance of schools and other education settings, the shorter report instead sets out a narrative on what is working well and what is not working well.
1. Spread of part-time timetables ‘cannot be good’
The report pointed to known figures on absence rates – higher than pre-pandemic, and with one in five pupils missing a day a fortnight.
But absence figures “also speak to a broader disruption and fragmentation of education for too many children”.
Ofsted said it was “concerned about the number of children whose pattern of education is disjointed”.
“Again, this phenomenon appears to have grown since the pandemic.”
An estimated 34,000 children are on part-time timetables, which are supposed to help children back to school after illness or a period of school refusal.
But Ofsted said the “spread of part-time timetables suggests they are becoming more readily used, which cannot be good”.
2. ‘Significant’ numbers opting out of ‘orthodox’ education
The watchdog also said a mix of online and in-person education was “increasingly used for children with SEND and behaviour or health needs”.
And a “small number of schools allow children to be flexi-schooled, where parents choose to home educate their children for part of the week”.
“Schools record this as an authorised absence, so we cannot be sure how many children are flexi-schooled.”
Ofsted said the numbers “may not be huge”, and the watchdog later clarified it did not even have a figure for the number of schools using the approach.
“But alongside the tens of thousands of children who are home educated (many of whom receive a good education), as well as an unknown number attending illegal, unregistered schools, they represent a very significant number of children who have, one way or another, been opted out of more orthodox patterns of education.”
3. ‘Vicious cycle’ of school absence
The report warned high absence rates created a “vicious circle”.
“Missing education makes it harder to catch up and progress. This can easily dishearten children, and lead to further and more entrenched absences.
“And as with childcare deserts and oases, this is a national problem that bites particularly hard in more disadvantaged areas.”
4. School sector is ‘overwhelmingly strong’
The government scrapped headline Ofsted grades for schools with immediate effect in September. Last month, Ofsted published the final set of national statistics including that metric.
It showed 90 per cent of schools were ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ at the point headline grades were canned.
The report said responses to the Big Listen consultation had “made it clear that there was significant scepticism about whether this national grade profile accurately reflected the strength of education across the country”.
But “be that as it may, what the figures clearly show is that the schools sector – along with the other sectors we inspect – is overwhelmingly strong and providing a good standard of education to children”.
“This is no small feat, when set against the challenges that I will go on to describe. The role of schools has become harder and more complicated in recent years.”
5. SEND system ‘will always leave some disappointed’
On SEND, Ofsted said it was “clear the system is not there yet”. Outcomes are poor, “and we have heard many heartbreaking stories of families’ struggles against the system”.
New money pledged at the budget is “welcome”, but there is a “fundamental mismatch between the scale of demand and the level of resource”.
“This will always leave some families disappointed, no matter how much additional money is forthcoming.”
6. Using EHCPs ‘too widely’ stretches resources
The watchdog said it was “right to consider demand as well as supply; not all children with an identified need will (or should) receive an EHC plan”.
The needs of many children with SEND “can and should be met in mainstream schools with high-quality targeted support”.
“We should, collectively, look at the early interventions that can be made – for instance in the early years and key stage 1 – to stop needs escalating and becoming entrenched.
“If EHC plans are used too widely, the resources that follow them will always be stretched too thinly for those in most need.”
7. ‘Inconsistencies and weaknesses’ in SEND
Ofsted also continues to see “inconsistencies and weaknesses” in SEND arrangements.
Many children with SEND “do not receive the right support at the right time”. This situation is “aggravated where there is ineffective use of information across partnerships, and weak joint commissioning, governance and oversight”.
Arrangements for supporting children and young people during long waits for health assessment and services “are often insufficient”.
“In the more effective practice, we see education, social care and health leaders working together to decide how services are best coordinated in the interests of children and their families.”
8. AP ‘used to fill the gaps’
The watchdog also warned inspectors “too often see AP used to fill the gaps in SEND provision”. Almost one in four children in school-arranged AP have an EHCP.
AP “can and does play an important role for children who, for many different reasons, are not able to attend mainstream schools. But it should be viewed as a fixed-term intervention not a long-term solution”.
“Much AP” is offering a “very good and valuable service”. But not all AP is regulated and inspected.
“This can be legitimate, where it operates for limited hours a week and works with small numbers of children. But sometimes these rules are breached, tipping the provision into the same category as illegal schools.”
Ofsted has “long highlighted the scourge of illegal schools, and in some cases prosecuted them”.
“Too many of the institutions we investigate do a poor job, sometimes in hazardous premises. The government is set to give us the additional powers we have long called for to help crack down on this wild west of education.”
