EAST Lancashire head teachers have called on Ofsted to stop sending out “mixed messages” over inspections.

The education watchdog introduced a new framework in September which promised to focus more on progress than pupil outcomes.

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The policy was confirmed by chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw at a meeting of Lancashire headteachers last month.

School leaders from the region hit out at the announcement by stating that, in their experience, Ofsted was still focusing on what the students achieve in exams, instead of how much progress they made during their time in school.

Paul Trickett, head teacher of Rhyddings High School in Oswaldtwistle, said: “It’s progress that inspectors should be looking at more, instead of outcomes.

“Since the new framework was introduced in September, Ofsted has said that it is looking more at progress than before.

“However, the head teachers that I have spoken to, have said that it’s simply not the case and that they are looking far more at outcomes.

“We are getting mixed messages from Ofsted. We need everybody to be singing from the same hymn sheet.”

At the meeting of secondary school head teachers in Lancashire last month, Sir Michael prompted a round of head-shaking from leaders in the audience as he said that inspectors were looking more at progress than outcomes.

A number have said that while that might be official policy, those that have been inspected under the new framework had not found it to be the case in practice.

Ivan Catlow, head teacher of St Cecilia’s RC High School in Longridge, said: “Sir Michael clarified his position and said that an inspecting body can’t say that a school is good if the outcomes are not whatever the progress is.

“They do need to focus on progress more because that is the best way to measure how well a school is actually doing.

“A child might come to the school in year seven and we would aim to make them achieve more than they expected, but that does not mean they will get a “C” at GCSE.”