Schools will be marked down if pupils misbehave under new Ofsted inspection regime

Schools will be marked down if pupils misbehave and are discourteous to each other, under Ofsted’s new inspection regime. 

The proposed framework, which will be published today, includes “behaviour and attitudes” as a stand-alone category for the first time.  

The move follows research by Ofsted which revealed a rise in “low level” disruption such as children playing on their mobile phones and other electronic devices in the classroom.  

Schools will be judged on whether there is a “safe, calm, orderly and positive environment”, the draft framework says.

Inspectors should observe pupils during break times and lunch as well as during lessons, and take note of “pupils’ respect for and courtesy and good manners towards each other and adults”.  

A school that has “deliberately" removed pupils from the school or “arranged for them to be absent” on the day of an inspection in an attempt to boost their Ofsted rating will likely be handed an instant “inadequate” grade for the category. 

Sean Harford, Ofsted’s national director for education, said that new category was bought in to recognise the fact that low-level disruption is on the rise in classrooms, adding: “If every child behaved at school the standards would rocket up”.

The education watchdog published a report in 2014 which found that low-level disruption is an everyday part of school life, with pupils routinely using mobile phones, humming and swinging on chairs.

Children are losing up to an hour a day of teaching because of a damaging culture of disrespect in schools, the report concluded.

Mr Halford said that the research informed the new framework, explaining: "The problem now is more one about low level disruption - swinging on chairs, tapping when the teacher is talking, passing notes, whispering, mobile phones, you know getting distracted by electronic devices etc. That kind of thing is what has been on the rise, and is the bane of teachers' lives."

In the new framework, the “personal development” category will examine what schools do to build young people's resilience and confidence. This could include running a debating society, sports teams, drama clubs of cadet forces.

Inspections in England will no longer focus on exam results and grades, and instead will concentrate on whether pupils are being taught a broad curriculum, the framework says. 

It also seeks to mark down schools that are guilty of “off-rolling”, where pupils are unjustifiably expelled because the school fears their exam results will drag the average down.  

Launching the consultation in a speech to the Sixth Form Colleges Association on Wednesday, the chief inspector of schools Amanda Spielman will say: "The new quality of education judgment will look at how providers are deciding what to teach and why, how well they are doing it and whether it is leading to strong outcomes for young people.

"This will reward those who are ambitious and make sure that young people accumulate rich, well-connected knowledge and develop strong skills using this knowledge.

"This is all about raising true standards. Nothing is more pernicious to these than a culture of curriculum narrowing and teaching to the test."

The proposals will go out to consultation today [WEDS], with a view to implementing the new inspection framework from September.