Ofsted 检查制度即将再次全面改革的消息表明，这一制度需要进行根本性的重新思考，而不仅仅是再次对评级体系进行微调（英格兰学校检查制度在大量投诉后再次面临改革，10 月 2 日）。作为一名在国际学校拥有 30 年教学经验的教育工作者（其中 21 年担任两所学校的校长），我认为，在进一步改革时，第一步应当是停止将这些检查称为“检查”（inspections）。
The news that Ofsted inspections are to be overhauled again indicates that a fundamental rethink is required, rather than tinkering again with the grading system ( England school inspections to be overhauled again after barrage of complaints, 2 October ). As an educator with 30 years’ experience in international schools (21 years as head of two schools), I would suggest that when further changes are made, the first step should be to stop calling them “inspections”.
这个词让人联想到一种冷漠、自上而下的程序。虽然采用英国课程的国际学校通常使用类似 Ofsted 的流程，但美国国际学校和国际文凭课程学校则倾向于使用“评估”（evaluation）或“认证”（accreditation）程序。
The word implies an unfeeling, top-down procedure. While British curriculum international schools tend to use an Ofsted-style procedure, American international and international baccalaureate schools tend to use “evaluation” or “accreditation” procedures.
在这些程序中，学校会依据一套标准对自身表现进行评估。学校的工作人员，包括学生、家长和董事会成员，会花一年的时间讨论学校的成就，并确定需要改进的领域。随后，他们将报告提交给相关机构，该机构再组建一个团队到学校进行访问。这个团队由来自其他国际学校的在职教育工作者组成。因此，学校是由同行专业人士进行评估的，这比由检查员组成的团队要少得多威胁感。他们的任务是判断学校是否准确地评估了自己的表现。
In these, the school evaluates its own performance against a set of standards. The people who work in the school, including students, plus parents and board members, spend a year discussing the school’s achievements and identifying areas for improvement. They submit their report to the agency, which then puts together a team who will visit the school. The team is made up of practising educators from other international schools. So the school is evaluated by fellow professionals, which is much less threatening than a team of inspectors. Their job is to decide whether the school has accurately evaluated its own performance.
根据我的经验，学校通常能出色地完成自我评估，这意味着访问者可以说：“干得不错，你们清楚自己的优势和不足。现在我们可以利用专业经验，基于这份报告，帮助你们迈向更高水平。”团队访问是一种积极且充满合作精神的过程，其目的是肯定学校教职员工所做的工作。这与 Ofsted 的“海鸥式”访问形成鲜明对比——他们突然飞来，制造巨大噪音，扰乱一切，然后扬长而去，只留下一堆“鸟粪”。这种富有同情心且支持性的评估模式早已存在，只待采用。
My experience is that schools generally do an excellent job of self-evaluation, which means that the visitors can say: “Well done, you know your strengths and weaknesses, we can now offer our expertise in building on this report and helping you to move up to the next level.”The team visit is a positive, collegial experience whose aim is to validate the work that the school’s own staff has done. This contrasts with the seagull approach of an Ofsted visit – they fly in, make a lot of noise, disrupt everything and then take off, leaving a load of guano behind. The sympathetic, supportive model of evaluation is already out there waiting to be adopted.
加雷思·琼斯，伦敦 我曾经历过四次Ofsted检查：一次是在一所小学担任校董会主席时，一次是在一个早期教育团体中，一次是在一家大型成人学习服务机构担任负责人时，还有一次是在一所继续教育学院担任校董会副主席时。其中三次在之前的Ofsted评估框架下获得了；第四次则被评为“需要改进”，严重影响了员工的士气和心理健康。
Gareth Jones London I have experienced four Ofsted inspections: as the chair of governors at a primary school, an early years group, head of a large adult learning service, and vice‑chair of governors at a further education college. Three received favourable judgments under the previous Ofsted framework; the fourth was rated “requires improvement”, severely affecting staff morale and mental wellbeing.
无论检查员态度多么礼貌，所有检查的方法论都造成了巨大的压力和焦虑。这一过程有时甚至像警察搜查：各项实践和记录被仔细审查，员工在怀疑中被盘问，最终评估结果也迟迟未能公布。
However courteous the inspectors, the methodology in all cases created considerable pressure and anxiety. The process sometimes resembled a police search: practices and records were scrutinised, staff questioned under suspicion and the final judgment delayed.
教育机构确实需要严格的检查，不良做法也必须得到纠正。但目前的模式似乎更倾向于强制执行，而非提供建设性的专业支持。一种更有效的模式应将检查与咨询相结合。检查员会先识别出优势和改进领域，随后在一段明确的时间内提供针对性支持。之后通过较短的后续评估来检验进展。只需回顾一下前成人学习监察机构所采用的更具协作性的模式，就能理解其中的差异。
Educational institutions require rigorous inspection and poor practice must be addressed. But the current model appears to favour enforcement over constructive professional support. A more effective model would combine inspection with consultation. Inspectors would identify strengths and areas for improvement, followed by targeted support for a defined period. A shorter follow-up would assess progress. One has only to refer back to the more collaborative model adopted by the former Adult Learning Inspectorate to appreciate the difference.
这种做法既能保持评估的严谨性，又能减少惩罚性的语气，并促进Ofsted与教育机构之间建立更平等的合作关系。同时，这也要求检查员不仅要给出评估结果，还要提出改进方案。理查德·胡珀，南约克郡佩尼斯通
This would retain rigour while reducing the punitive tone, and foster a more collegiate relationship between Ofsted and institutions. It would also require inspectors to offer remedies as well as judgments. Richard Hooper Penistone, South Yorkshire