THE NEW OFSTED FRAMEWORK SEPTEMBER 2014
AN NUT BRIEFING
INTRODUCTION
Ofsted has reduced and simplified its guidance documents for school inspection in England from September 2014. This is a welcome change, notwithstanding the many concerns the NUT and the teaching profession continue to have regarding Ofsted inspection both in respect of its impact on educational provision and the stress and pressure it causes for teachers.
WHAT ARE THE CHANGES FOR 2014/15?
The current framework document can be accessed at http://www.Ofsted.gov.uk/resources/framework-for-school-inspection.
The main changes will be:
· An end to the separate grading of individual lessons;
· Introduction of separate graded judgements for early years and sixth form provision;
· Revised guidance for inspectors regarding the curriculum and its assessment following the removal of National Curriculum grade descriptors; and
· A greater focus on pupil behaviour and safety.
The impact of these changes is discussed in more detail in the NUT guide WHAT’S NEW WITH OFSTED? which is available on the NUT website at: https://www.teachers.org.uk/education-and-equalities/ofsted
Even before the most recent framework was published, a welcome recent change is that Ofsted inspectors no longer grade individual lessons. The NUT welcomes this development. Ofsted now judges the quality of teaching in the school based on its inspectors’ judgements on teaching quality across the school as a whole, using a wide range of evidence. Inspectors may still provide feedback on teaching to individuals or groups of teachers, but this change should help to make the process feel less personal and judgemental of individual teachers.
In addition, this change should help also to ensure that teachers and school leaders collectively are seen as the best arbiters of how lessons are conducted in their schools, for the children they teach; and it should move the process on from a belief that Ofsted seeks a ‘model’ lesson or teaching style.
HOW OFTEN DO INSPECTIONS TAKE PLACE?
School inspections take place in a differentiated cycle according to the school’s previous inspection judgement:
· Some schools are designated as ‘exempt schools’ meaning that they are exempt from future section 5 inspections (although they could be subject to a section 8 inspection where there are concerns about is performance). Exempt schools are those schools that were judged ‘outstanding’ at their last Ofsted inspection. These schools will be regularly subject to a ‘risk assessment’, normally beginning three years after the previous inspection and annually thereafter to determine whether an inspection is necessary.
· Those schools judged ‘good’ in their most recent inspection will normally be inspected within five years of their previous inspection (the average time is three years and nine months currently). The exception is that PRUs, special schools and maintained nurseries that were previously rated good will be inspected within three years of the previous inspection.
· Schools that were most recently judged to ‘require improvement’ will normally be inspected within two years of the previous inspection. If, at its subsequent inspection, the school is again judged to require improvement, there will be a further inspection within the following two years. Thereafter, if the school is not judged to be either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, it is likely the school will be judged by Ofsted to be inadequate. Where this occurs, the NUT AdviceLine should be contacted (see below).
· Schools judged to be ‘inadequate’ in their most recent inspection are likely to receive an inspection within three months of the judgement, if not earlier, and will receive regular monitoring inspections thereafter. Members in schools in such circumstances are strongly advised to contact the NUT AdviceLine (see below).
HOW MUCH NOTICE WILL WE RECEIVE?
Schools will usually be notified of an inspection at or just after midday on the working day before the start of the inspection.
Ofsted may inspect a school without notice where this is deemed appropriate. Where the inspection is conducted without notice, the lead inspector will normally telephone the school about 15–30 minutes before arriving on site.
HOW LONG WILL THE INSPECTION LAST?
The length of inspection depends on the size of the school. Inspections do not normally last for more than two days, and in the case of small schools, may be completed in a single day.
WHO ARE THE INSPECTORS?
Ofsted inspectors are either:
· Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) employed directly by Ofsted;
· Additional Inspectors (known as ‘Associate Inspectors’) employed directly by Ofsted on a secondment basis for a fixed period of time; or
· Additional Inspectors employed directly, or contracted, by three private companies known as inspection service providers (ISPs) – these are CfBT, SERCO and Tribal.
From September 2015, inspection services provided through ISPs will be brought back in-house. The NUT has campaigned for this reform and welcomes this decision which should create more accountability and hopefully reduce the potential for conflicts of interest – such as inspectors being employed by an academy chain or by the DfE as an academy broker at the same time as they are inspecting schools.
The Code of Conduct for inspectors states that they must uphold the highest professional standards and treat everyone fairly and with respect. If this doesn’t happen you should consider making a complaint.
WHAT JUDGEMENTS WILL THE INSPECTORS MAKE?
Inspectors will report on and grade the quality of education provided in the school and must, in particular, cover:
· the achievement of pupils at the school;
· the quality of teaching in the school;
· the behaviour and safety of pupils at the school; and
· the quality of leadership in and management of the school.
Inspectors also consider and report on, where relevant, the overall effectiveness of early years and sixth form provision.
INSPECTION GRADES USED TO MAKE JUDGEMENTS
Inspectors will grade the school in terms of both its ‘overall effectiveness’ and the four key judgements above as follows:
· Grade 1 – outstanding
· Grade 2 – good
· Grade 3 – requires improvement
· Grade 4 - inadequate
When reporting, inspectors will also consider
· the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils at the school; and
· the extent to which the education provided by the school meets the needs of the range of pupils at the school, and in particular the needs of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.
HOW WILL INSPECTORS MAKE THE JUDGEMENT ON TEACHING AND LEARNING?
In the School Inspection Handbook (available at: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/school-inspection-handbook), Ofsted states that:
“Inspectors will must spend as much time as possible gathering evidence on teaching and learning, observing in lessons, scrutinising work (including in pupils’ books and folders), talking to pupils about their work, gauging both their understanding and their engagement in learning, and obtaining pupils’ perceptions of typical teaching.”
Inspectors will record their evidence on evidence forms.
The Handbook also clearly states that:
“The key objectives of lesson observations are to inform the evaluation of the overall quality of teaching over time and its contribution to learning and achievement, and to assess the behaviour and safety of pupils and the impact of leadership and management in the classroom. When inspectors carry out observations in lessons, they should not grade the quality of teaching for that individual session or indeed the overall quality of the lesson.”
The Handbook also makes clear that Ofsted does not favour or advocate a preferred planning, teaching or assessment style. On the contrary it states that:
“Inspectors must not advocate a particular method of planning, teaching or assessment. They will not look for a preferred methodology but must record aspects of teaching and learning that they consider are effective, and identify ways in which teaching and learning can be improved.”
Crucially, the Handbook states that that, at the start of the inspection, the lead inspector must:
“Ensure that the head teacher is aware that Ofsted’s evidence from lesson observations, whether joint or otherwise, should not be used as evidence in capability/disciplinary proceedings or for the purposes of performance management.”
FEEDBACK AND DISCUSSION WITH TEACHERS AND STAFF
Inspectors must offer feedback to staff but it is up to staff whether they wish to take part in feedback sessions. Feedback may be one to one, with groups of observed teachers or to the whole staff group.
When feeding back, inspectors should not provide a grade for a lesson they observed or indicate their view on whether the teacher or the quality of teaching they observed was good or otherwise (even if an observed teacher asks them to do so). If asked, they may provide feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of what they have observed.
REPORTING THE OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION
Before leaving the school the lead inspector will inform governors and senior leaders about the judgements the inspection team have reached.
In the majority of cases a written report setting out the main findings of the inspection will be sent to the school within 10 working days of the inspection and published on Ofsted’s website within 15 working days of the inspection. The exception is that where a school has been judged inadequate the report is usually published within 28 working days of the inspection.
CONCERNS ABOUT THE CONDUCT OF INSPECTIONS
In a small number of cases members may have concerns regarding the conduct of an inspection. Where possible, complaints or concerns should be raised with the lead inspector during the inspection itself.
If the problem cannot be resolved at that stage, members should consider making a formal complaint through the Ofsted complaints procedure (http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/contact-us/how-complain) at the earliest opportunity. Members in this position should seek the support both of their NUT representative and the head teacher or other appropriate senior manager.
SCHOOLS JUDGED TO BE CAUSING CONCERN
In a minority of cases, a school may be judged by Ofsted to be in a category of schools causing concern. This means it is judged to have serious weaknesses or to require special measures:
· Serious weaknesses – this judgement will be given where one or more of the key judgements are rated inadequate (grade 4) and/or there are serious weaknesses in the provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. However leaders, managers and governors are judged to be capable of securing improvement (this means that leadership and management are judged at grade 3 or above).
· Special measures – this judgement will be given where inspectors judge that a school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the leaders, managers and governors are not considered to demonstrate the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.
Where a school is judged to be in one of the above categories, it is advisable for NUT members to ask their school representative to contact the NUT AdviceLine on 0203 006 6266 or and notify their Regional Office.
Schools judged as requiring special measures or significant improvement may find themselves ‘eligible for intervention’ which could result in pressure to become a sponsored academy. An NUT legal advice note, Forced Conversion under the Academies Act 2010 - Schools Eligible For Intervention, explains this situation in more detail and is available on the Union’s website at: http://www.teachers.org.uk/academies
WHAT DOES THE NUT DO ABOUT SCHOOL INSPECTION?
The NUT will continue to consult members for their views and experiences of inspection – positive and negative – these greatly aid the process of discussions and negotiations on behalf of all NUT members.
The Union conducted a Workload Survey of members in September 2014 that demonstrated that the Ofsted process continues to be a major source of additional and unnecessary workload for teachers and that is a significant trigger for stress and ill health among members.
The Union meets regularly at a national level with Ofsted and Government and will continue to put forward the views of the teaching profession. The Union has been successful in securing some changes to the inspection process, for example, in the removal of grading for individual lessons, but more needs to be done.
The NUT will continue to campaign and lobby for a system of school accountability which is developmental rather than punitive, see the NUT EduFact on school inspection at http://www.teachers.org.uk/edufacts/school-inspection for more details.
School inspection affects all members. Being part of the NUT allows members to act collectively in response to inspection, with the weight of the Union behind them. Consider asking your school representative to call a meeting on Ofsted inspection. If your school does not currently have a representative, get together as members to elect one. Further advice on this is available at http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/10513.
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