At the National Association of Headteacher’s (NAHT) Annual conference on 4 May, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, announced changes to ungraded inspections. ‘Deep dives’ during ungraded inspections to stop from September. Move will affect 40% of all school inspections. The changes are designed to reduce the burden on school leaders and allow more time … Continue reading Oftsed ‘deep dives’ removed from ungraded inspections
Category: Ofsted
Government responds to Ofsted criticism in RE row
The BBC reported that Ofsted had criticised Wolverhampton's RE - in a report to Wolverhampton SACRE, Oftsed had said that the city's religious education was not sufficient to prepare young people for adult life in such a diverse and multicultural community. The BBC then approached the DfE for a response, and reports that they stated … Continue reading Government responds to Ofsted criticism in RE row
Ofsted’s work with schools – Education Committee Report
The House of Commons Education Committee has published its report on Ofsted. Some of the report's conclusions are: School inspections are not currently carried out in sufficient length or depth to cover the full range of areas of a school’s work. The short notice period appears to be causing operational difficulties for many schools. There … Continue reading Ofsted’s work with schools – Education Committee Report
Ofsted School inspection handbook update
Oftsed have recently released an updated school inspection handbook (effective from 19 January 2024) that takes into account their recent Prevention of Future Deaths report. The handbook is mainly unchanged - most of the changes are clarifications. In summary, these are as follows: Inspection can be paused under exceptional circumstances - headteachers can request a … Continue reading Ofsted School inspection handbook update
Ofsted responds to Prevention of Future Deaths report
Published today (19 January 2024) Ofsted has responded in full to a Prevention of Future Deaths report issued by HM Coroner ahead of school and further education inspections being notified next week. The response includes a new policy on pausing an inspection. A comprehensive listening exercise – the Big Listen (previously reported here) – will … Continue reading Ofsted responds to Prevention of Future Deaths report
Ofsted: mental health awareness training and The Big Listen
Ofsted inspections have been paused until later this month as the new Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, begins his term of office. This is in response to the Ruth Perry inquest. A Big Listen will take place later this year- it will provide an opportunity for parents and professionals to reflect on the strengths and … Continue reading Ofsted: mental health awareness training and The Big Listen
Beyond Ofsted
Beyond Ofsted is a new inquiry established to develop a set of principles for underpinning a better school inspection system and proposals for an alternative approach. It is chaired by Jim Knight, Rt Hon Lord Knight of Weymouth (former schools’ minister), and its findings have been published in a report "Beyond Ofsted. an inquiry into … Continue reading Beyond Ofsted
Alignment between inspection grades and headline data measures
A new data commentary from Ofsted looks at the degree of alignment between a school’s performance data and their Ofsted inspection judgement. It also explains why alignment is not always helpful and should not be an end in itself. Oftsed says its inspections are designed to get ‘under the bonnet’ of a school; to really … Continue reading Alignment between inspection grades and headline data measures
