Introduction
All 18 of Havering’s secondary academy schools are inspected and graded by OFSTED. The reports are an important source of information for parents.1 This is especially true for parents of Year 6 children transitioning to secondary schools.
This discussion asks whether OFSTED reports are worth the paper they are written on.
Discussion
Attainment 8 will….be based on a calculation of pupils’ performance across eight qualifications.2 Attainment 8 covers every academic experience of students in schools. It is the key performance indicator for parents and is ignored by OFSTED. Schools are monitored through OFSTED inspections and focus on four main areas, which don’t include academic achievement.3
The best and worst 2025 Attainment 8 scores in Havering were: Coopers Coborn 58.2 and, Bower Park 37.7.4 Havering as a whole slightly outperformed England. Coopers Coborn exceeds both Havering and England. It successfully prepares students for GCSE. The reverse is the case for Bower Park. They are well below the Attainment 8 scores of Coopers Coborn, Havering and England.
Coopers Coborn
The OFSTED report ignores Attainment 8 outcomes. Nothing. There are, however, 12 lines on Safeguarding.6 Safeguarding isn’t more important than academic outcomes. It isn’t controversial to think OFSTED could, and should, celebrate Coopers Coborn’s GCSE successes. The report does comment on teachers,….[who] have strong subject knowledge.
OFSTED rated Coopers Coborn as ‘Good’ in 2022.
Bower Park
OFSTED bizarrely says, The school has high aspirations for pupils’ academic achievement….7 The reality is different. OFSTED damns the quality of teaching and the classroom experience of students. Effectively they say teachers are weak and ineffective at promoting learning and discipline. The report dismisses Safeguarding in a single sentence, “The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. “
The Bower Park OFSTED report is a naked and unashamed whitewash.
OFSTED report says Bower Park is ‘Good’ in 2023
OFSTED
Ofsted exists to raise standards and improve lives for all. We put children and learners who face barriers to their learning and/or well-being at the heart of what we do. This is our mission.8 (my emphasis)
OSFTED fails its ‘mission’. Students in Coopers Coborn had an Attainment 8 score of 58.2 and Bower Park 37.7. It’s a travesty that both schools are rated ‘Good’.
There is a further deficiency. OFSTED’s ‘mission’ states, We put children and learners who face barriers to their learning and/or well-being at the heart of what we do.9 (my emphasis)
Really?
Coopers Coborn achieved a high Attainment 8 score. But this might not be case for the Disadvantaged Students who attend the school. Their achievement in the all-important Gold Standard in English and Maths was 44.4%.10 The disparity with their non-disadvantaged students is 26.4 percentage points, which is statistically significant. GCSE English and Maths grade 5-9 is an essential achievement. OFSTED don’t mention the chasm in achievement inside the same school, with the same teachers and the same resources in their report.
Nor do they comment on the additional £107,000 in Pupil Premium funding Coopers Coborn received for their Disadvantaged Students. This isn’t just a value for money issue. It’s the scandal of missed opportunity for the most vulnerable students attending the school that’s critical.11
Conclusion
OFSTED reports fail their ‘mission statement’. OFSTED protects schools from scrutiny and is in hock to the educational establishment.
OFSTED reports are worthless.
Addendum: New OFSTED policy
I couldn’t find any examples of this style of inspection so I don’t know how they assess the *achievement* element.
- inclusion
- curriculum and teaching
- achievement
- attendance and behaviour
- personal development and wellbeing
- leadership and governance
Source Ofsted report cards: the 8 big changes you need to know From 2026
Notes
1 ‘Parents’ is shorthand for parents and guardians.
2 Progress 8 and Attainment 8 – an explanation of the proposed improved model Attainment 8 may be introduced in Autumn 2027 p3
3 loc.cit
4 For a statistical presentation go to The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School – Compare school and college performance data in England – GOV.UK same site for Drapers
A Comparison of Havering and Redbridge Secondary Schools, 2025 – Politics in Havering Gold Standard here means Grade 5-9 in English and Maths. It is not the total picture of the effectiveness of a school. It is a ’snapshot’.
5 The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School – Open – Find an Inspection Report – Ofsted
6 loc.cit pp2-3
7 50230969 pp2,3
8 Education inspection framework: for use from November 2025 – GOV.UK
9 loc.cit
10 Havering’s Secondary Academies and their Disadvantaged Students, 2025 – Politics in Havering
11 Does the London Borough of Havering have a Two-Tier School System? | Odeboyz’s Blog
Politics in Havering 