Two words for Ofsted’s inadequate one-word ratings for schools: good riddance

I have always wondered how it can be that an organism as multi-faceted, complex and dynamic as a school can be adequately summed up usefully in a one- or two-word description. For example, most parents would surely find it rather, well, unsatisfactory, if they received an end-of-year report on their offspring that was headlined in such a way: “Emily: Inadequate.” True, there may be various sub-categories and another 1,400 words or so of detailed, discursive assessments to bring out the nuances, but the final verdict is the one that everyone will know and remember – and many will not read on having been confronted with such a damning indictment. And “inadequate” is such a harshly pejorative word too, isn’t it? If so, then maybe we should make things even easier for busy parents and have categories of “the good, the bad and the ugly”, or, like an MoT, “pass” and “fail”. The panoply of Ofsted inspections grew out of a culture of demonising and devaluing the teaching profession, making them the scapegoats for the real problems – yes, “inadequate” parenting and “inadequate” funding provided by “inadequate” education ministers.