Embracing complexity: rethinking education inspection in England

Abstract

This theoretical paper provides valuable insights into the ongoing debates on OfSTED’s fitness for purpose and effectiveness. It critically examines the current education inspection system in England through the lens of complexity theory. The paper begins with a review of significant changes in the system from 2019 to the present, explaining that education inspection, as a complex system, is characterised by path-dependence, self-organisation, co-evolution, emergence, interdependence and adaptability. This is followed by a comprehensive discussion concerning the underlying power dynamics contributing to the gradual lock-in of the inspection system over the past three decades. Furthermore, it evaluates whether the system has reached a tipping point, potentially transitioning towards a new era. The complexity theory equips change agents, policymakers, policy implementers and school practitioners with a useful theoretical framework to navigate the landscape of educational inspection and facilitate meaningful changes. For change agents to embrace complexity thinking when envisioning a new inspection system, this paper presents several recommendations: surveying the evolving landscape and collecting new evidence, benchmarking against other inspection systems, balancing the power dynamic between OfSTED and schools and paying switching costs while incentivising change adopters.