The document summarizes changes to school inspections in England that took effect in September 2013 and were updated in January 2014. Key changes included a greater focus on pupil progress, particularly for disadvantaged students, more able students, and the use of pupil premium funds. Inspectors would also make separate judgments for behavior and safety and consider the quality of teaching for all groups of students. The goal was to further raise standards in English schools and close achievement gaps for low-income students.
5. Ofsted is still studying overall academy
performance
most sponsor-led academies are members of multi-
academy trusts
some have performed strongly but others have not
over 50% of secondary schools (9% of primary
schools) are now ‘converter-academies’; we will assess
their performance next year.
6. In the best schools….
strong leaders and governors routinely challenge low
expectations and mediocre teaching
they recruit and retain good teachers
they provide good support for those in their first years
of teaching
they create a culture in which good teaching can
flourish; orderly, welcoming schools and high
standards
leaders reward good performance and tolerate neither
inconsistent teaching or poor behaviour.
7. Robust accountability drives improvement
several countries are imitating the way we inspect in
England, including some countries that had abolished
inspection only to see outcomes decline
new inspection frameworks have ‘raised the bar’; only
‘good’ is good enough now
over 90% of schools judged as ‘requires improvement’
are taking effective action to improve and remedy
weaknesses.
9. Some worrying statistics are emerging
nearly a quarter of a million pupils are educated in
inadequate schools and a further 1.5 million in schools
that require improvement to become good
teaching observed on inspection was less than good in
around three in 10 lessons, more so in English and
mathematics
around 700,000 pupils attend schools where behaviour
or safety need to improve
over a quarter of our most able pupils did not make
expected progress between age 11 and 16: 27,000
children.
10. England’s schools are not yet among the
best in the world
There remain three key barriers to raising standards
further:
weaknesses in teaching and variation in quality within
phases
pockets of weak educational provision in parts of the
country
significant underachievement of children from low-
income families.
14. Access to a good school is too dependent
on where a child lives
regional variation in school performance remains and
can mask even greater variations in performance within
each region
Ofsted is monitoring performance in each local authority
and inspects the area if under-performing
there are not yet enough National Leaders / Teaching
Schools to drive improvement in all areas.
15. The attainment gap between low-income
pupils and other pupils is widest for the
largest ethnic group: White British
17. The focus of school inspection
We are continuing to focus on what really matters
Inspectors judge the quality of education provided in the
school and its overall effectiveness - taking account of
four key judgements:
the achievement of pupils at the school
the quality of teaching in the school
the behaviour and safety of pupils at the school
the quality of the leadership in, and management of,
the school.
18. The focus of school inspection
Inspectors will also consider:
the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of
the pupils at the school
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 with special educational needs
the impact of the pupil premium funding on eligible
pupils.
19. Inspectors will continue to:
spend most of their time in classes, observing lessons
and evaluating the impact of teaching on learning
talk to pupils about their work, gauging their
understanding and engagement, and their perceptions
of the school
look closely at pupils’ behaviour and safety in and out
of lessons
hear children read in primary schools, and in Years 7
and 8 in secondary schools.
During the inspection
20. Inspectors will continue to:
scrutinise pupils’ work and look at data on pupils’
performance, behaviour and attendance
involve the headteacher and senior managers fully
during the inspection, including during inspection team
meetings
engage with members of the governing body
take account of parents’ views.
During the inspection
22. Key changes
Changes, from September 2013 with January 2014
amendments, are to support headteachers, staff,
governors and stakeholders in their work to provide the
best education for pupils.
The changes have been derived from:
an evaluation of section 5 inspections
recent surveys, including: Unseen Children and Most
Able Students
national priorities for school inspection.
23. pupils’ progress remains a key factor, as shown by
progress of pupils currently in the school and recent
nationally benchmarked performance data
school proportions of pupils making, and proportions
exceeding, expected progress should be close to, or
above, national figures for achievement to be good
Ofsted’s descriptors do not use the overall percentage of
pupils making expected progress but take account of
progress from different starting points
some schools do not have up to three years worth of data
available. This is does not prevent them from being
judged good or outstanding.
Achievement
24. for achievement, and overall effectiveness, to be
outstanding, progress of pupils eligible for the pupil
premium in English and mathematics should match, or be
rapidly approaching, the high level of progress of other
pupils
if their progress is falling further behind that of other
pupils in either English or mathematics, leadership and
management are likely to be inadequate
where school's use of pupil premium is weak, inspectors
will recommend an external review of the use of the pupil
premium.
risk assessment will include the progress of these pupils.
Achievement: pupils eligible for the pupil
premium
25. underachievement of the more able pupils can trigger
judgements of inadequate achievement and
inadequate teaching
when considering how effectively the pupil premium is
used to provide support, inspectors must take account
of its impact for the more able pupils who are in
receipt of the pupil premium.
Achievement: more able pupils
26. inspectors must not favour a particular or preferred
approach to teaching or planning lessons. It is for a
school to determine how best to teach and engage
pupils to secure good or better learning
there is a further focus on testing and checking Key
Stage 1 assessments, through classroom observation,
book trawls and other first-hand evidence, to ensure
that a school’s assessment of pupils’ performance is
robust
inspectors will evaluate whether teaching meets the
needs of, and provides sufficient challenge to, the most
able pupils.
Quality of teaching
27. Behaviour and safety
inspectors will make two written judgements, one on
behaviour, the other on safety; these will be stated
separately in the report
these judgements must be weighed to determine a
balanced, graded judgement on behaviour and safety
overall
where, for example, behaviour is judged to ‘require
improvement’ and safety is judged to be ‘good’, the
overall judgement for behaviour and safety will be
‘requires improvement’.
28. Inspectors will take account of:
the views expressed by pupils of their experiences of
others’ behaviour and attitudes, and their understanding
of the importance of positive attitudes in school and in
later adult life
a range of evidence in order to judge behaviour and
safety over an extended period
a school’s track record; the circumstances that led to
any reported serious incidents; and observe pupils and
discuss with them matters such as behaviour outside
lessons; break times; and at the beginning and end of
school.
Behaviour and safety
29. 29
Behaviour and safety
Inspectors must also consider:
pupils’ attitudes to learning and how it helps or hinders
their progress in lessons
pupils’ responses to staff’s instructions and requests,
allowing lessons to flow smoothly and without
interruption
whether pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive across
subjects, years, classes and with different staff
whether pupils are safe; risk, and extremist behaviour.
30. Leadership and management
Focus on:
in secondary school inspections: on careers
information, advice and guidance available
how primary school sport funding is being used to
support physical well-being among pupils
greater recognition of leaders in schools in difficult
circumstances
the effectiveness of middle leaders.
31. Leadership and management
Focus on:
strengthening governance: if governance is weak,
inspectors will recommend an external review of
governance
awareness of e-safety
promoting ParentView.
32. Recommended reading
School inspection handbook (Jan 2014)
Subsidiary guidance (Jan 2014)
Annual report 2012/13 (Dec 2013)
Inspecting e-safety (Jan 2014)
These and all other Ofsted inspection
documentation can be downloaded from
www.ofsted.gov.uk
Raising standards, improving lives