Feedback from PlymstockFeedback from Plymstock subject inspection of History subject inspection of History

by HMI:by HMI:

Audience PerceptionAudience PerceptionEvidence BaseEvidence Base

ScrutinyScrutinyScrutiny T & LScrutiny T & L

Scrutiny with HODScrutiny with HODTipsTips

Future Action PlanningFuture Action Planning

Audience Perception

The bar has been raised:

‘Outstanding now means to stand out nationally’

and the purpose of Ofsted is ‘to be constructive’

• E.g. To gain outstanding for your results you have to be in top 10% of examination results

• Very purposeful foci from HMI – whole process dialogue and constructive feedback is couched in OFSTED adjectives good, outstanding etc

• Key foci was how History was implementing national strategies (New KS3 Curriculum) and what impact they were having

• Key threads for this particular inspector were Independent Learning, ECM and Community Cohesion (with particular emphasis on this one)

• Department were given six days notice

• The department presented evidence on the following aspects:

(HMI didn’t request it all but was very thorough going through it and would have requested some of it if it hadn’t been presented before hand)

Evidence Base

• AfL• ICT• Community Cohesion - in school, local (city),

regional and international• Non-Graduate History Teaching - preparation

and its quality assurance• Progression and Tracking• Citizenship• Reviewing and Planning

• Results Analysis

• Student Tracking, Intervention and Quality Assurance - personalisation especially at KS4 and 5

• L2L and LiL

Evidence Base

• One file was submitted per SOW which contained:

• Scheme of Work

• Rationale for scheme of work

• Delivery of PLTs, numeracy, Literacy, cross curricular links

• All lesson plans to support the SOW

Evidence Base

• Home School Liaison / Communication

• Review and Action Plans

• Department Handbook

• What made for Contentious History?

Evidence Base

• Contribution to School Specialism

• Feedback and Actions based on Student Voice work

• Primary School liaisons

• G and T

Evidence Base

Went through these with fine toothcomb looking for evidence of where new strands and strategies were being implemented & impacting, planned for and MOST IMPORTANTLY revisited to show progression

Scrutiny

Scrutiny

• Reviewed schemes of work and questioned HOD about extent to which subject was maintaining / losing its identity within scheme of work at expense of new strands and developments

• Tracked progression in concepts and skills within scheme of work (ground work for APP)

HMI wanted to see in every Lesson Plan and SOW:

• Clear distinctions between Learning Objectives and Learning Outcomes; latter as success criteria - everything written in ‘student speak’;

• A clear breakdown of Learning Objectives in to Knowledge and Skills with skills subdivided into subject specific skills and broader skills e.g. PLT’s, AfL etc

Scrutiny

He wanted to see details of:

• when skill/s had last been used; • when skill/s next going to be used;

Scrutiny

Scrutiny

• wanted to see evidence that schemes of work were active and annotated. He expected that we should by now have in place a new Yr 7 curriculum (taught & reviewed) and Yr 8 being taught for the first time. Yr 9 should be in development this year

• wanted evidence that assessment was active not passive and very student led/focused and that work was completed or in progress to embed

• Sampled 15 students and interviewed them from across years 9, 11, 12 in 3 x 20 minute sessions

• Asked for marking samples to accompany students

Scrutiny

• Progression was big issue – particularly in development of new skills associated with new curriculum interventions e.g. PLTs Literacy etc – wanted direct evidence to prove that students knew

• where there were at; • what needed to do to get better • what are they going to do to get there. Wanted

absolute proof/evidence and to be thoroughly convinced that there was a culture and long term process/mechanism for ensuring that individual students were improving

Scrutiny

Lesson observations:• 10 observations of 30 minutes each across two

days – all dept staff including non specialists• Focusing on:• judging quality of learning and tracking progress

of individuals• what interventions being made • personalisation. – including looking at school

action plus students

Scrutiny - Teaching and Learningplease see exemplar lessonplease see lesson obs grid

please see Ofsted Guidance

• Tackled HOD about how ensured quality assurance in T and L across all team members

• Department supplied all lesson plans in advance to same common format and this was appreciated by HMI

Scrutiny -Teaching and Learning

• Definite trend emerging – under new framework – the old outstanding is now good; old good is now satisfactory; a new outstanding is stratospheric!

• Direct quote from HMI & Ofsted:

‘Its not the teaching unless, I notice obstacles to effective teaching it’s the learning and progress we are interested in’

‘The main focus of the inspection is learning, not teaching’

Scrutiny - Teaching and Learning

• Learning and Progress is EVERYTHING – HMI had clear expectation that students would be reflecting every 10 – 15 minutes on what they had just learned and would be engaged in discussion and target setting frequently throughout a single lesson

Scrutiny - Teaching and Learning

Scrutiny – With HOD

• Data Analysis – looking at trends; wants detailed accounting for any anomalies and evidence to support why it has happened; Completing a standard analysis package was not deemed enough to account for ‘odd’ results

Scrutiny – With HOD

• HOD asked to contextualise the work of the dept within the school and spent considerable time testing whether their view of the work of the team was accurate or not

Tips from HOD:Glossary

• Attainment = standards shown by data compared to averages (a 3 yr cycle)

• Progress = the rate at which people are learning over periods

• Achievement = the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development and training

Tips from HOD

• Use Nicky Baker’s original Ofsted Checklist• In initial meeting between HOD, Head and HMI

make sure you clarify what information he/she wants and want format would be acceptable

• Be very prepared and go armed with documentation and evidence. Have more than asked for as it saves running around at short

notice – HMI will go through everything

• Be very prepared and go armed with documentation and evidence. Have more than asked for as it saves running around at short notice – HMI will go through everything

• Sell yourself

Tips from HOD

• Don’t bluff the HMI if unsure or insufficient evidence admit it and claim work in progress but,…….

• MAKE SURE YOU CAN EVIDENCE IT IS WORK IN PROGRESS E.G. development plan, action plans, initial work already done . HMI seems happy if there is a secure evidence trail that something is being put in place and is being rigorously monitored and evaluated against strict deadlines and success criteria

Tips from HOD

• Don’t get defensive, but don’t be afraid to challenge any assumptions that HMI make which you feel are unsupported or wrong. Even a two day inspection is at best a snapshot of what you do

• Most of the interviewing and discussions centres on HOD and HMI there was minimal discussions with other department members he just observed and then gave 10 minutes feedback to each one – brief your team; agree common approaches and threads to develop in lessons; be prepared to discuss with staff afterwards

Tips from HOD

Action Planning • Track a student cohort - have a body of students

(mixed ability) ready to be interviewed with best marking practice to hand

• Create ‘Schemes of Learning’ rather than ‘Work’. ‘It is an arrogant to assume that Learning only arises from Teaching’

• Think in terms of ‘Learning and Teaching’, not ‘Teaching and Learning’

• Work on incorporating reflection in lessons

Action Planning• How do your SOW show the new curriculum and skills

(PLTS)?

• Get NJW, LD, WF or trained Ofsted Observer to vet lessons

• Tracking Students Progress - how do you do it? Can you demonstrate progress is being made by everyone e.g. G&T, EAL, FSM. Whole school data gathered termly or half-termly is just not enough

• Track Progression of Skills - how do you do it?

Action Planning• Active Marking - is it an active dialogue?

• See Lesson Planning Overview – this is what an outstanding lesson should contain and what can emerge after at least 5hrs prep

• Do you have an Active SEF or Evidence Base? Brevity is appreciated but, an evidence base to support it is unavoidable

Action Planning Good and bad results need to be equally interrogated

Action Plan everything - you cannot claim work in progress without planning

• Community Cohesion – Is it planned?

• ECM underpins everything

• Assessment Mapping – Display to the students what they will be studying, when it will be studied and how and when you will assess it

Celebrate - Identified best practice

• SOW

• Tracking (esp KS4), Reflection & Analysis

• Community Cohesion – Oral History Project & Dig for Victory

• Use of I-Pod & Mp3 for revision