Pupils get feedback on their school's inspection

The English inspectorate has reviewed its new policy of sending letters to pupils alongside the reports it publishes on their schools.

Most children thought they were a good idea. Some older pupils found the letters "patronising" while some of the younger ones did not understand them.

Ofsted said inspectors needed advice on appropriate styles for different ages.

Although head teachers' unions have criticised the letters, Ofsted said little more than one in 10 head teachers it surveyed were unhappy with the letters sent to their pupils.

Nearly seven in 10 were "very pleased" with them.

Jargon

Its research covered 55 schools and more than 1,500 pupils.

We have said that although you work hard, many of you could make even better progress Inspectors' letter to pupils Click here for an example

"A very few secondary school councils felt that the tone of their letter was patronising, but almost all expressed a positive view about the principle of writing directly to pupils about the outcome of the inspection," Ofsted said.

There were some common concerns.

"The language of the primary school letters tended to be pitched towards the older or more articulate pupils.

"Although jargon was unusual, the meaning of some words and phrases such as 'monitoring' and 'teachers with management responsibilities' was lost on some of the younger pupils."

Some were confused by a mix of formal and informal styles within the same letter.

"Due to the formal layout of the letters and absence of colour, they were unattractive to younger pupils."

Inspecting the inspectors

Schools were also told they should try to make sure all pupils had read the letter.

And they should seek pupils' views more actively and inform them of plans to tackle any key issues in the inspection report.

At the annual conference of the National Association of Head Teachers this year, the letters to pupils were condemned as "patronising, condescending and supercilious".

The letters gave children a "licence for bad behaviour", delegates said, and sometimes included criticism of readily-identifiable teachers.

Ofsted also commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to "inspect" its new inspection regime.

Its report said most schools thought the shorter inspections - where schools get only a few days' notice of a visit - were less stressful than the previous system.

A higher proportion of head teachers than under the previous system considered that the benefits of inspection outweighed the negative aspects.

But the NASUWT union said, had the opinions and perceptions of teachers been sought, the outcome would have been "markedly different".

"It is teachers who have borne the brunt of excessive, punitive monitoring generated by the school self-evaluation process which underpins the new regime," said general secretary Chris Keates.

"It is the already beleaguered teachers who have had to cope with the opportunity Ofsted has provided for pupils to put them under even more pressure through the introduction of pupil questionnaires and letters about the outcome of inspection.

"This report will only serve to make Ofsted even more impervious to the realities of its adverse impact on schools," she said.

[The school] is not providing an acceptable standard of education because a large proportion of its pupils do not make adequate progress. The school acknowledges this and knows where its weaknesses lie. Some of these have been long standing. The school has not addressed weaknesses in subject leadership and does not routinely monitor the quality of its lessons. While the school accurately identifies areas for improvement, it judges its own performance too generously. The quality of teaching and learning is too variable and there is not enough good teaching to ensure that all pupils make good progress. . . .
Improvement plans are in place but these lack clarity and are not strongly enough linked to the identified groups of pupils whose progress is inadequate. Consequently, the school is not as well placed as it might be to secure further improvement. In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

Dear Children,
We have enjoyed visiting your school and watching you learn and play together. We particularly enjoyed talking with you about your work. We were pleased to see how involved you are in helping the school to run smoothly. We were very impressed with the way that you help ensure that everyone feels safe and happy at playtimes. We think that your school council makes a real difference in improving what you have in your school and hope that it will help your teachers even more when the new buildings open.

What inspectors most liked about your school:

• We found that we were made very welcome by everyone and that you were very polite and helpful.
  
• We were pleased that you enjoy school and congratulate you for attending regularly.
  
• We know that you work hard and mostly concentrate on your lessons
  
• We liked the way that you set yourselves targets to improve in your learning.
  
• We noted that you behave well and know what is the right and wrong.
  
• Teachers know you well and take care of you, which you appreciate.
  
• We are pleased that some of you, who find learning very difficult, are working hard and making progress.

What inspectors asked your school to do next
We have said that although you work hard, many of you could make even better progress in your lessons.

The school knows you well, but could expect much more from some of you, particularly in your mathematics and writing.

Your head teacher and teachers have plans to help you make better progress, but we think that they need some extra help to ensure that their plans work.

We believe that some teaching could be improved. We hope that you will help your teachers in making things even better, by continuing to work hard.