Latest news with #SirMartynOliver
Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Ofsted head: Scrapping one-word ratings will hit house prices
Scrapping single-word Ofsted judgments could hit local property prices in areas where schools are rated outstanding, the chief inspector of Ofsted has said. Sir Martyn Oliver described how average house prices near two schools previously in special measures jumped £15,000 'within a week' after their rating was upgraded to outstanding. Speaking at the Festival of Education in Berkshire, Oliver said parents rely heavily on Ofsted judgments when choosing where to live and are often guided by the single-word ratings. Meanwhile debate over plans to overhaul the Ofsted grading system, which some critics argue oversimplifies school performance but others say provides a clear benchmark for parents, is intensifying. From November, the single-word judgments — outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate — will be replaced by a more nuanced five-point scale assessing multiple areas of school performance.
Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Ofsted shake-up could lower house prices
Ofsted's inspections shake-up could lower house prices around top-performing schools, the watchdog's chief has hinted. Sir Martyn Oliver said properties come with a premium if they are located near high-achieving schools, especially those rated 'outstanding' under the current Ofsted system. However, he suggested this was likely to change when one-word Ofsted ratings are replaced with more 'nuanced' report cards from November, which will give schools colour-coded rankings across 10 different inspection areas. Sir Martyn said the inspections overhaul would prove a headache for property agencies such as Rightmove, which show house-hunters the Ofsted rankings of nearby schools. 'Here's a burning question: what's Rightmove going to do?', Ofsted's chief inspector told an audience at the Festival of Education at Wellington College on Thursday. 'It's a serious point. Interestingly, Ofsted is probably one of the best known regulators and inspectors in the world, let alone in this country.' The former headteacher, who built a career turning around failing schools, added: 'All those years of living at least 20 minutes away from my school, sometimes 40 minutes – I ended up sponsoring two special measures schools right where I live. 'And the house prices shot up. They were both in special measures, both went to 'outstanding', and the house prices went up £15,000 within a week. It does make a difference.' Value of single-word judgements In an apparent defence of the former Ofsted ranking system, Sir Martyn said it showed that 'parents obviously put a value' on single-word judgements of schools. Research published by Yopa, the estate agency, last year showed properties in England close to 'outstanding' schools were priced around £116,000 higher on average than those near schools rated 'inadequate' – the lowest ranking under the single-word system. Similar research by Knight Frank in 2021 found that properties in catchment areas for 'outstanding' primary schools sold for 10 per cent more on average than those located further away. Schools will still be allowed to promote their one-word ratings until they are reinspected by Ofsted, which usually happens every three to four years. It is unclear whether estate agents will still be allowed to display schools' ratings on their websites beyond that. It comes after the school inspections watchdog a faced a backlash over its plans to replace single-word judgements with new colour-coded report cards. Under the new system, it will give schools ratings for each area of practice, ranging from a red 'causing concern' up to a dark green 'exemplary'. Last year, the Government announced that it was scrapping the one-word system following the death of Ruth Perry, a headteacher who took her own life in 2023 after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her school in Reading from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate'. Prof Julia Waters, Mrs Perry's sister, has been among critics of the proposed changes, saying in February that they read as if Ofsted has 'fed single-word judgements through an online thesaurus'. 'A fine balance' of complexity needed Speaking on Thursday, Sir Martyn said he had been forced to strike 'a fine balance between providing so much complexity and so much nuance that schools find it stressful… or not enough nuance and not enough complexity that it does them [teachers] a disservice for the great job that they do'. But he added that the new system would deprive the best-performing schools of the opportunity to boast about their success. 'We've been doing something for 30-plus years in a single way,' the watchdog chief said. 'If I look at my phone there will be pictures of people standing in front of their schools with balloons with an O, a U, a T – [spelling] 'outstanding' – and local newspapers up and down the country celebrating. 'It happens all of the time, and we're about to take that away and change it to something else that for more than three decades people are used to.'
The Independent
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Ofsted chief inspector apologises for short notice on school inspection reforms
The chief inspector of Ofsted has apologised that schools will no longer get a full term's notice before inspection reforms are introduced in England. Last month, the watchdog said it would delay setting out its final plan for school inspections until September – just weeks before new report cards are due to be rolled out in November. School leaders' unions have threatened to tell their members to quit as Ofsted inspectors unless changes are made to the timescale for inspection reform. Speaking at the Festival of Education, Sir Martyn Oliver, chief inspector of Ofsted, said he was 'sorry' about the delayed timescale as he acknowledged it was 'difficult' for schools. At the event at Wellington College, Berkshire, Sir Martyn called on school leaders to 'judge' him on the Ofsted's revised inspection model once it is published at the start of the academic year. Last year, the Government announced that headline Ofsted grades for overall effectiveness for schools in England would be scrapped. Previously, Ofsted awarded one of four single-phrase inspection judgments: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate Under proposed report cards, set out in February, schools could be graded across at least eight areas of a provision using a colour-coded five-point scale. They would receive ratings, from the red 'causing concern' to orange 'attention needed', through the green shades of 'secure', 'strong' and 'exemplary' for each area of practice. During the Q&A session at the event on Thursday, Sir Martyn suggested that Ofsted ratings can alter local house prices by thousands of pounds because parents 'value' them. When asked whether Ofsted's new report cards could affect house prices, Sir Martyn said: 'Well, I don't know.' But Sir Martyn, who used to be an academy trust leader, spoke of how he had supported two 'special measures' schools where he lived and the house prices 'shot up' after they received better Ofsted ratings. He told the audience: 'They were both in special measures, both went outstanding, and the house prices went up £15,000 within a week. 'It does make a difference.' Sir Martyn added that 'parents obviously put a value on it'. Ofsted had planned to publish its formal response to its consultation on proposed inspection reforms in the summer term ahead of the changes coming into effect in November. But Ofsted will now publish its full response in September due to the scale of the feedback it received. When asked whether this delay was fair on school leaders, Sir Martyn said: 'I think that is difficult and again I'm sorry about that.' On single-word judgments, he added: 'We've been doing something for 30-plus years in a single way. 'If I look at my phone, there will be pictures of people standing in front of their schools with balloons, with an O, an U, with a T – 'outstanding', and local newspapers up and down the country celebrate. 'It happens all of the time, and we're about to take that away and change it to something else that for more than three decades people are used to.' Sir Martyn said: 'Here's a burning question, what's Rightmove going to do?' Currently, Rightmove includes the Ofsted ratings for local schools in its listings for houses for sale. In a speech at the event, Sir Martyn said children are increasingly receiving life lessons from influencers or 'AI-generated summaries'. The Ofsted boss argued that classroom learning with human interaction 'has never been more important' as many children spend much of their lives online. He said: 'Young people are growing up in an increasingly curated world in which their favoured influencers or corporate algorithms can have a disproportionate impression on their views and opinions. 'It's more important than ever that young people are able to lift their eyes from the screen and connect with their teachers, in person.'
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Ofsted boss reveals why controversial new school rating system could affect house prices
The head of Ofsted has hinted his inspection report overhaul could affect house prices for people living near schools. Sir Martyn Oliver said Ofsted ratings can change local house prices by tens of thousands of pounds, because parents 'value' them so much. However, under his new system, the old overall judgements of 'outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate' will be scrapped. Instead, from November, schools will get a more 'nuanced' report card, with ratings issued on a set of up to 10 different areas. Speaking about the impact, Sir Martyn acknowledged it will stop property websites such as Rightmove selling houses using 'outstanding ratings' for local schools. He said: 'Here's a burning question, what's Rightmove going to do? It's a serious point.' Asked if the changes would 'affect house prices', he replied: 'I don't know. However, the former 'super-head', who has turned around failing schools, added: 'I do know, that… I ended up sponsoring two special measures schools right where I live, and the house prices shot up. 'They were both in special measures, both went outstanding, and the house prices went up £15,000 within a week. 'It does make a difference.' Sir Martyn, the chief inspector of schools, was speaking about the new report cards at the Wellington College Festival of Education in Berkshire. The cards were unveiled in February and full guidance will be issued in the autumn following a consultation. Currently, Rightmove includes the Ofsted ratings for local schools in its listings for houses for sale. Parents are willing to pay a premium to be in the catchment area of a highly-rated school, pushing the costs of housing up and pricing out less wealthy families. Last year, online estate agent Yopa released figures showing Britons are paying £116,000 more to live near an 'outstanding' school compared to an 'inadequate' one. If overall ratings disappear, it could potentially reduce the clamour to live near certain schools. Asked if it was a 'good thing', Sir Martyn said: 'I think, it's not whether I think it's a good or bad thing. [But] parents obviously put a value on it.' Sir Martyn suggested schools will no longer be able to boast about being top in the same way that they used to. He said: 'We've been doing something for 30-plus years in a single way. 'If I look at my phone, there will be pictures of people standing in front of their schools with balloons, with an O, a U, with a T – 'outstanding', and local newspapers up and down the country celebrating. 'It happens all of the time. 'And we're about to take that away and change it to something else.' However, he defended his decision to keep some kind of ratings system – after some teachers lobbied for a prose-only summary. 'Parents are quite clear that they do want some definition, they do want to be able to describe what their child's school is like,' he said. 'The single word judgement was crude, it doesn't give you that nuance and complexity. 'So now I have a fine balance between providing so much complexity and so much nuance that schools find it stressful and too difficult, it increases their workload, but not enough nuance and not enough complexity that it does them a disservice for the great job that they do.' Ofsted's overhaul was triggered after Labour won the election, and was originally intended to make inspections less stressful for teachers. The inspiration came from the tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life over her school being downgraded. However, the new system has been branded 'even worse' by teaching unions, and has been compared to a 'Nandos spice chart'. The Tories have also said it will confuse parents. As an interim measure, the overall judgements were scrapped last year – although those already awarded are valid until the next inspection.
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Children are receiving ‘life lessons' from influencers and AI
Children are increasingly receiving life lessons from influencers or 'AI-generated summaries', the chief inspector of Ofsted will say. Sir Martyn Oliver will argue that classroom learning with human interaction 'has never been more important' as children are spending their lives online. In a major speech at the Festival of Education, the Ofsted chief will say schools are places of 'refuge', connection, friendship and humanity for children. Sir Martyn will tell the event at Wellington College, Berkshire: 'Right now, many children live much of their lives online. 'Socially, they are never 'off' and always in touch with their friends. 'And they increasingly receive life lessons from influencers or AI-generated summaries. 'I would argue that the place of learning, real learning, classroom learning – with human interaction – has never been more important.' The Ofsted boss will add: 'In a way there's something cloistered about living one's life in a curated online environment. 'You may be able to find 'the best that has been thought or said' if you go looking for it. 'But who's guiding you through it? Where's the human connection? And of course, where's the protection?' His comments come amid calls from the Conservatives for the Government to bring in a statutory ban on smartphones in schools. Schools in England were given non-statutory Government guidance in February last year intended to stop the use of phones during the school day. Sir Martyn will say: 'Schools have never just been places of learning. 'They were, and are places of safety, even refuge. Places of community and connection. Places of friendship and humanity. 'They are citadels of childhood: communities within communities looking after their own and helping children develop into well-rounded adults – capable of looking after others in turn.' On Thursday, Sir Martyn will hit back at cynics who 'decry the norms of education' and who say Ofsted enforces an 'out-of-date, joyless system'. In his speech, he will say: 'For Ofsted, teaching a full, rich range of subjects isn't just a nice to have, it's fundamental to a great education. 'Music and art and sport aren't add-ons to the core curriculum, they are some of the most important subjects to study, in terms of developing a child's awareness of the world around them. 'And in a more macro sense, feeding into the cultural evolution of our country and pushing civilisation on.'
