An update for NLAGB AGM, November 2015

Early findings from the new Ofsted inspection framework

Tina Page, Principal Officer for School Improvement

Well done and thank you!

• Highest ever proportion of children and young people now attending provision judged to be Good or Outstanding by Ofsted – with most schools judged to be Good, no primary schools judged to be Inadequate and both main college providers judged to be Good

• Best ever results in 2015 and strong improvement at every stage of children and young people’s education - above national for most key indicators and top quartile for many (around half of schools achieved FFT D estimates) and inequality gaps narrowing again

Key questions

• What information is emerging about the new Ofsted common inspection framework?

• What lessons can we learn from the inspections carried out so far under the new framework?

• How can schools and governors best prepare for an inspection under the new framework?

• How can governors fulfil their roles effectively with regard to monitoring and evaluating the school’s progress against its key improvement priorities?

• How can governors gain reliable information about pupils’ achievement in a world without levels, and ensure they receive accurate information from senior leaders?

Short inspections for Good schools (Section 8)

• 1 (Primary) or 2 (Secondary) HMIs for one day every 3 years• No requirement to prepare documentary evidence for inspection (inspection

dashboard and SEF)• Starting hypothesis is that the school continues to be good• School leaders need to demonstrate the school is still good, the areas for

development and how they are tackling these• HMIs will test leaders’ self-evaluation through a range of inspection activity

including observations and discussions• The focus of the inspection will be on the impact of leaders and governors in key

areas of provision• Professional dialogue with ongoing feedback throughout the day• Converted to Section 5 with full range of judgements if more evidence needed to

reach a decision; more inspectors brought in• HMI writes letter outlining findings and giving two judgements: the school

continues to be Good; safeguarding is effective

Changes to full inspections (Section 5)• Four grades (leadership & management; teaching, learning & assessment;

personal development, behaviour & welfare; outcomes for pupils) plus Early Years or 16-19

• Will state whether safeguarding is effective (incl. Prevent Duty)• L&M: impact of leaders’ work in developing and sustaining an ambitious culture

and vision, tackling mediocrity and using robust performance management to improve staff performance

• TLA: developing pupils’ knowledge/understanding/skills in all aspects of curriculum/across key stages – not just EM; assessment in all its forms

• PDBW: PD - key focus on pupils’ self-confidence/awareness and understanding of how to be successful learners; B - readiness for learning, respect for school/other pupils and conduct/self-discipline; W – physical/ emotional well-being, staying safe online and safe from all forms of bullying

• Outcomes: inspectors will give most weight to pupils’ progress and, within this, the progress of pupils currently in the school in all year groups; groups to include the more able

What lessons have we learned so far?• The experience was positive but intense and demanding, especially

for senior leaders• You will struggle if you are not organised, not clear about the

messages you want to convey or do not have information to hand• HMI had identified three lines of enquiry for the school: reading

across the school, disadvantaged pupils and the more able• HMI requested professional predictions for each year group in the

school early on in the inspection• HMI wanted historical understanding of the data for disadvantaged

pupils (school showed case studies and IEPs for PP as well as SEN)• Attendance of disadvantaged pupils was scrutinised• It was expected Single Central Record would be available “at click of

a button” including DBS for regular visitors (at least fortnightly)• Aspects of safeguarding explored were: curriculum response to CSE;

FGM; Prevent; and Bullying (including cyber bullying)

What is the best way to prepare?

• “The best preparation you can do for Ofsted is to make sure that your school is as good as it can be”

• Ensure teaching is good or better in every classroom and every child makes at least good progress

• Be ready to tell the story of how you have improved the school and back it up with compelling evidence

• Ensure everyone is clear about the messages you want to convey and have the information to hand so that you are all “singing from the same hymnsheet”

• Support for the latter: 5-page SEF; rehearse answers to possible Qs together; record these on an A4 hymnsheet; write the paragraph beforehand.

How confident would you all be about answering these questions?

1 What do you see as the main purpose/key roles of governors at this school?2 What is the school best at? What is in most need of improvement? What are the 3

main priorities on the Improvement Plan? How are you addressing these?3 What does RAISEonline tell you about the performance of Y6/Y2 in 2015? What

does it tell you about the performance of different subjects/groups of pupils?4 How will the performance of current Y6/Y2 compare, as shown by the school’s

progress tracking systems and processes? How robust do you think these are?

5 What is the quality of teaching/leadership and management like in the school, including strengths and weaknesses? How do you know?

6 How are you using performance management to improve provision and outcomes?7 How have you decided to spend the Pupil Premium and why? Is it making any

difference to the learning and progress of disadvantaged pupils at the school?8 How do governors monitor and evaluate the school’s effectiveness, and hold senior

leaders to account for it? Where is the evidence for the latter?

How can governors monitor and evaluate the school’s progress against its key priories for improvement?

Governors could:• Form a scrutiny group• Assign pairs of governors to key

priorities for improvement• Link the pairs with the senior

leader responsible for the priority on monitoring visits in school

• Observe QA activities in school to triangulate what they are told

• Use a simple proforma tp record outcomes of monitoring visits

• Seek external assurance, e.g. via the school improvement partner

• Train themselves to understand the data and ask the right Qs

Senior leaders should:• Involve governors in SEF and

School Improvement Plan writing• Ensure School Improvement Plan is

accessible, with clear actions, success criteria and milestones

• Provide info from range of sources to help governors triangulate

• Invite governors to observe QA activities, e.g. work scrutiny, so they can see the rigour first-hand

• Involve governors in SIP visits, and invite SIPs to GB meetings

• Help governors to understand the data (and avoid acronyms/jargon)

How can governors gain reliable information about pupil achievement in a world without levels?

• In the absence of any national data or guidance, we are better off sticking with what we know!

• We know Age Related Expectations (ARE) are higher than Level 4

• We know what Level 4b looks like, i.e. a secure Level 4• So we can equate ARE with L4b for the time being• Governors should ask senior leaders for their professional

predictions: what percentage of pupils are “on track” to meet ARE by the end of the Key Stage?

Governors should challenge professional predictions that are below the floor standard (65% ARE in R/W/M)

Governors should ask what interventions are in place for pupils not “on track” and what is the impact of these

Key questions

• What information is emerging about the new Ofsted common inspection framework?

• What lessons can we learn from the inspections carried out so far under the new framework?

• How can schools and governors best prepare for an inspection under the new framework?

• How can governors fulfil their roles effectively with regard to monitoring and evaluating the school’s progress against its key improvement priorities?

• How can governors gain reliable information about pupils’ achievement in a world without levels, and ensure they receive accurate information from senior leaders?