‘Stuck Schools’ are Underperforming: EPI Report

A study from the Education Policy Institute and UCL Institute of Education has been conducted on ‘Stuck Schools’ and highlights the need for greater support for underperforming schools.

Sector Response

Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

“This is an important report on ‘stuck’ schools.  The researchers’ findings demolish the government’s claim that joining a MAT will improve schools’ outcomes.  They found that there is no positive effect or negative effect for primary schools joining a MAT.  Ministers must recognise that a change of a school’s governance is not the magic solution they claim it to be.

“Researchers note the ‘vicious cycle’ between low Ofsted grades and increased teacher and pupil turnover. 

“It is not at all surprising that staff in ‘stuck’ schools have grave concerns about the fairness of Ofsted inspections – and in particular the ability of inspectors to recognise the work done in ‘stuck’ schools to support pupil progress.  It is extremely concerning that school staff’s impressions of the unfairness of Ofsted inspections are reinforced by data which shows that some ‘stuck’ schools actually achieved significantly higher rates of pupil progress than not stuck schools.  Ofsted, it would appear, has some explaining to do.

“The report makes a number of important conclusions. The most significant, as the Education Bill makes its way through the legislative process, is that Ministers review the impact of academisation on primary schools.  Obsessed by structures, ministers are in grave danger of ignoring the factors that really can improve ‘stuck’ schools – including training and retaining enough teachers, funding these schools properly for the extra challenges they face and radically reforming the Ofsted inspection cycle – so that its judgements are more reliable and fairer.”

Julie McCulloch, Director of Policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“This report confirms that what is desperately needed to improve the fortunes of schools which are trapped in a cycle of negative Ofsted ratings is more support and less punishment. Unfortunately, we have a system in which negative Ofsted ratings stigmatise schools, ruin careers and damage professional reputations.

“Fewer children then attend these schools – which puts pressure on funding – and it is more difficult to attract staff. It is very hard to escape this vicious circle and secure the improvement that is needed by pupils, families and communities.

“Given that these schools are often in areas of high disadvantage it is easy to see that the outcome of such a system is that so-called ‘stuck schools’ can become a baked-in feature of communities which desperately need the ‘levelling up’ help that the government so frequently talks about but does not actually deliver.

“As this report shows, other schools facing challenging circumstances have managed to avoid a continuous cycle of negative Ofsted judgements. So, this is a complex picture that cannot be ascribed to a single cause or be solved by a single solution. However, what is abundantly clear is that the current system does not help matters and that there must be a reset in which school inspections are part of a holistic strategy to target support where it is needed rather than a big stick with which to beat schools.”