Friction between schools and parents is increasing as families are more willing to break school rules amid a “troubling” change in attitudes towards education, the outgoing head of Ofsted warned on Thursday.
Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman said the social contract between parents and schools fractured as a result of the pandemic and is still not repaired, while behaviour and attendance have worsened.
Launching Ofsted’s annual report she said there has long been an unwritten agreement that parents would get their children go to school every day and respect school policies. In return, schools give children a good education and help prepare them for their next steps in life.
But since the pandemic absenteeism has become a “stubborn problem” in schools and disruptive behaviour has become more common, she said.
There is also more anecdotal evidence of “friction” between schools and parents, who are increasingly willing to challenge school rules, she added, and a greater tendency for parents to complain to Ofsted.
The pandemic overshadowed her seven years as head of Ofsted – the longest time anyone has done the job for - she said, and leaves a “troublesome legacy.”
She added: “This is evident not just in the educational and developmental gaps that some children are still struggling with, but also in a fracturing of the traditional social contract between schools and families. We see its impact in lower school attendance, poorer behaviour and friction between parents and schools. Restoring this contract is vital to sustaining the progress we’ve seen.”
She added that across society there is now less respect for the principle of a full-time education, and that the flexibility schools showed in the pandemic may have had unintended consequences.
She said: “The idea that school can be a pick-and-choose exercise needs to be debunked…School is a package deal that cannot be entirely personalised to every child or parent’s preferences.”
She also called for more government guidance on contentious issues such as the handling of transgender issues, because headteachers can feel isolated and unsupported when making decisions, and to make sure policies are not driven by the “loudest voices.”
But the report highlighted some reasons for optimism - education and children’s social care are continuing to recover from the impact of the pandemic restrictions, and there is an overall “broadly positive picture.”
The report, which covers the period from September 2022 to August 2023, when 7,240 state school were inspected, found evidence that the teaching of reading in primary schools is significantly better, there has been progress in teacher training, and some local authorities are making “substantial improvements” in social care, which Ofsted also inspects.
Overall, 88 per cent of schools inspected this year were judged to be good or outstanding.
But there is also high demand for mental health services and for services for children with special education needs and disabilities.
Continued pressure on social care means too many children are being sent to live far from home and some children continue to be “invisible” after slipping below the radar. This includes children in illegal and unregistered schools. Ofsted lacks the powers to investigate and close these schools without new legislation.
And a lack of teachers in schools means there is less “expert teaching” and not enough help for children when they struggle.
