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Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

theguardian.com

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Re: Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

#61

Post by bemusedthrow75 »

nonrandomstring wrote: post #24
vdaea wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is that first link saying? That teachers need LESS oversight? This must be a joke. Also what does software have to do with that case?

> teachers need LESS oversight? They absolutely do. In fact they're going on strike in the UK over intolerable working conditions, and while the MSM report this as ostensibly about "pay" the deeper reason is that they are micro-managed to hell.

Yes. They need less oversight, more training (particularly in tech and tech-adjacent issues) and more power over curriculum.

Re: Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

#62

Post by nonrandomstring »

BlueTemplar wrote: post #51
DicIfTEx wrote: post #2

For context, Ofsted is the much-maligned government inspectorate of schools in England. They are currently under increased scrutiny following an inquest into the suicide of a headteacher following an inspection that concluded at the end of last year: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-67639942 and https://www.bbc.com/news/education-67639943

> The coroner said even when she attended hospital feeling suicidal, Mrs Perry felt she couldn't discuss the report with mental health professionals. Holy shit, how did THAT happen ?!?

> Holy shit, how did THAT happen ?!?

Because OFSTED have been hounding critics, compiling blacklists, sabotaging careers and attempting to have conference speakers critical of them deplatformed.

I'll have a dig and see if I can come back with some reference on that.

best I can find for now [0]

EDIT: added link

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/30/revealed-u...

Re: Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

#63

Post by iovrthoughtthis »

oogali wrote: post #4
DicIfTEx wrote: post #2

For context, Ofsted is the much-maligned government inspectorate of schools in England. They are currently under increased scrutiny following an inquest into the suicide of a headteacher following an inspection that concluded at the end of last year: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-67639942 and https://www.bbc.com/news/education-67639943

I hope people think more about cases like this and the Post Office when they go to say “it’s not like we’re curing cancer” or “my bad code isn’t a matter of life or death”. You might be far removed from the implications of doing a poor job but that doesn’t mean everyone else is.

this isn't individual devs fault

this is bad practice by service integrators

Re: Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

#64

Post by nonrandomstring »

bemusedthrow75 wrote: post #61
nonrandomstring wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> teachers need LESS oversight? They absolutely do. In fact they're going on strike in the UK over intolerable working conditions, and while the MSM report this as ostensibly about "pay" the deeper reason is that they are micro-managed to hell.

Yes. They need less oversight, more training (particularly in tech and tech-adjacent issues) and more power over curriculum.

> more training (particularly in tech and tech-adjacent issues) and more power over curriculum.

Yes yes!

They are crying out for this too. I was involved in an international conference a few weeks ago on attachment theory and education and all the UK and US teachers said that they want more training to become more self-sufficient in IT. They want more autonomy over elements of the curriculum that use tech.

They are also uncomfortable with using Big-Tech products in schools and concerned for the children over privacy.

Unfortunately I can't post the video b/c rights/confidentiality but if I am ever able I will do so.

Re: Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

#66

Post by gadders »

bemusedthrow75 wrote: post #60
gadders wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>much maligned Yes, by teachers and their unions. Parents generally like it and choose schools based on its ratings which are generally credible.

I am not a parent. If I were a parent, I would assume Ofsted scores to be useless. Why? Because I know teachers and what they experience about the Ofsted process, which is Kafkaesque and officious. It is much easier to look at the exam results, visit the school, ask people in an area what the kids are like at the bus stop —- are they well-behaved or are they scary? —- and ask young adults who recently left school wha…

Haha. "Hi kids. Are your teachers nice to you?" That's a good way to get put on a register.

But assuming the kids were nice, yet the school was rated "inadequate" - you would choose that over a school rated "outstanding"? I can tell you're not a parent.

Re: Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

#67

Post by gadders »

afandian wrote: post #57
gadders wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>much maligned Yes, by teachers and their unions. Parents generally like it and choose schools based on its ratings which are generally credible.

Do they? As a parent I consider OFSTED a low quality signal. If you’re reducing a school to a single word, I don’t think you’re taking the job very seriously. I wonder how others feel.

You'd chose an "inadequate" school over an "outstanding" one?

Do carry on putting your politics over your children's future.

Re: Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

#68

Post by Gibbon1 »

tailspin2019 wrote: post #21
oogali wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope people think more about cases like this and the Post Office when they go to say “it’s not like we’re curing cancer” or “my bad code isn’t a matter of life or death”. You might be far removed from the implications of doing a poor job but that doesn’t mean everyone else is.

While I do agree in principle, I think it's also the case that "the software" has been used as a convenient scapegoat and cover for what were incredibly poor practices and dishonest, irresponsible conduct. The fact that software is involved is in some ways a side issue - and while I do agree we as techies do need to consider the responsibility that we have, I'm equally frustrated how the narrative in the Post Office…

Your comment brings up an old memory. Lady mentioned once when she was a regional manager at a department store chain. They started having the till go short every so often at one store. Usually it's one person stealing. But looking at the video's they couldn't tell who. And there wasn't a pattern. Then it started happening at two other stores. And then another. The head of security had a hunch, took her to one of the stores after hours and pulled the register apart and they found two hundred dollars inside the machine.

The first store had been the first to get a new model register. And the new model tended to slurp bills out of the till if you closed it too hard.

So this isn't a new software thing. It's a problem with a management culture that shifts blame rather than get to the root of the problem.

Re: Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

#69

Post by afandian »

gadders wrote: post #67
afandian wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do they? As a parent I consider OFSTED a low quality signal. If you’re reducing a school to a single word, I don’t think you’re taking the job very seriously. I wonder how others feel.

You'd chose an "inadequate" school over an "outstanding" one? Do carry on putting your politics over your children's future.

When choosing a school we talked to the headmaster, pupils, teachers, and current parents. That’s far more rich than an inspector’s rushed visit.

Not sure what you mean by politics.

Re: Ofsted inspectors 'make up evidence' about a school's performance when IT fails

#70

Post by BlueTemplar »

afandian wrote: post #58
BlueTemplar wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The coroner said even when she attended hospital feeling suicidal, Mrs Perry felt she couldn't discuss the report with mental health professionals. Holy shit, how did THAT happen ?!?

> Two key sources of stress for Ruth Perry, according to the evidence, were the long wait for the report to be published, and the strict confidentiality warning that came with the draft report. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-67639943

Yes, I did read that, but what happened to patient-doctor confidentiality, it's not like her name was Edward Snowden ?!?

I really wonder what was in that handbook...

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