the new inspection arrangements for maintained schools and

Raising standards, improving lives

The new inspection arrangements for arrangements for maintained schools and academies from January 2012


Consultation and pilot inspections

� In March 2011 Ofsted published a consultation document setting out its proposals for the inspection of maintained schools and academies maintained schools and academies from 1 January 2012.

� During the summer term nearly 150 pilot inspections were carried out.

� Copies of the evaluation of the consultation and pilot inspections published today and hard copies available for you all

A new inspection framework –inspection methodology and the evaluation schedule


Key changes

� In judging the quality of the school, inspectors will make four key judgements:

� achievement� achievement

� the quality of teaching

� behaviour and safety

� leadership and management

� In judging the school’s overall effectiveness, inspectors will take account of the four key judgements and how well the school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.


Key changes

� There are no ‘sub-judgements’ or ‘contributory’ judgements.

� There will be no separate numeric judgments for the � There will be no separate numeric judgments for the Early Years Foundation Stage or the sixth form; inspectors will continue to evaluate these areas as part of the overall school provision.

� Value added (VA) measures rather than contextual value added (CVA) are used as a measure of progress in previous years.


Key changes

� There is a greater focus on:

� narrowing gaps in performance�

� quality of teaching and its impact on learning

� reading and literacy

� behaviour and safety.

� Inspectors will expect to use a summary of a school’s self-evaluation presented in a form chosen by the school.


� We will retain and build on the strengths of the current framework by:

� fostering the engagement of headteachers, school staff and governors in the process of inspection so that they understand the judgements made staff and governors in the process of inspection so that they understand the judgements made

� ensuring that inspection time is focused on observing teaching and learning, with feedback to teachers

� gathering, analysing and taking into account the views of parents, pupils and staff

� set out clear grade descriptors and guidance for each judgement.

Raising standards, improving livesAchievement will include an evaluation of current pupils’ learning and progress together with attainment and progress in recent years.

What is similar to current arrangements?

Achievement of different groups of pupils, Achievement of different groups of pupils, including those with disabilities and those with special educational needs remains at the heart

of the judgement.

Learning and progress are key drivers of achievement

Raising standards, improving livesAchievement

Key differences to current arrangements

� There is no separate or contributory judgement on the achievement of pupils with disabilities or those with special educational needs.

� There is no separate judgement on attainment. � There is no separate judgement on attainment.

� There is a greater focus on how schools are narrowing the gaps in attainment and progress between different groups of pupils and all pupils nationally.

� There are no contextual value added (CVA) measures. RAISEonline is being adapted to include a range of value added (VA) measures.

� A greater focus on pupils’ achievement in reading, as shown by test results, school records and inspectors’ evaluation of children's reading.

The quality of teaching

� The most important role of teaching is to raise pupils’ achievement. It is also important in promoting their spiritual, moral, social and cultural


promoting their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

� Teaching includes teachers’ planning and implementing of learning activities across the whole curriculum, as well as marking, assessment and feedback. It comprises activities within and outside the classroom, such as support and intervention.

A short aside 1

� Acceleration (speed up a year)

� Feedback

� Student-teacher relationships

� Teaching study skills

� Reading Recovery� Reading Recovery

� Cooperative learning

� Homework

� Individualized instruction

� Ability grouping

� Open vs. traditional classes

� Retention (hold back a year)

� Shifting schools

Raising standards, improving livesThe quality of teaching


� Teaching is evaluated in terms of its impact on learning and progress.

� The prime source of evidence is through lesson observations. � The prime source of evidence is through lesson observations.

� Inspectors will continue to take account of the school’s own evaluation of the quality of teaching.

� Inspectors will continue to undertake joint lesson observations with senior staff to enable inspectors to consider the school’s understanding of the quality of teaching.

� There will be feedback to teachers on the strengths and areas for improvement observed.

Raising standards, improving livesThe quality of teaching

Key differences

� Inspectors will gather evidence in addition to lesson observations to provide information about what impact teaching has on learning over time, for example:

� discussions with pupils about their work

� analysis of school records

� scrutiny and analysis of pupils’ work.

� There is a greater focus on:

� teaching of reading and developing literacy skills including observation of small group sessions

� formative assessment during lessons to support learning.


Behaviour and safety

� This judgement takes account of a wider range of evidence than the judgement on behaviour in the current judgement on behaviour in the current arrangements, as it includes:

� behaviour in the classroom and attitudes to learning

� behaviour around school

� attendance and punctuality

� a focus on freedom from bullying.


Behaviour and safety

� Central to the new judgement is the collection of evidence that provides a picture of what behaviour is typically like, not just that observed during the typically like, not just that observed during the inspection.

� The views of parents, pupils and staff are important sources of evidence to consider when assessing pupils’ behaviour and safety over time.


Leadership and management

� A focus on how effectively leaders and managers at all levels, in the context of the individual school:the individual school:

� promote improvements for all pupils and groups of pupils

� enable pupils to overcome specific barriers to learning.




� The focus on:

� improving outcomes and improving teaching

� self-evaluation

� capacity for improvement.

� The requirement to evaluate the school’s compliance with statutory requirements on safeguarding remains.



Key differences

� One single judgement on leadership and management

� There is no separate judgement for capacity to improve; this is incorporated in the single judgement on leadership and management

� An evaluation of the provision of a broad, balanced curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils

� A greater emphasis on engaging with parents and carers in supporting outcomes for pupils


Overall effectiveness

� This takes account of the four judgements and how the school promotes the pupils’ and how the school promotes the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development.

� A key aspect of judging overall effectiveness will be weighing the four judgements together with the evidence for the school’s promotion of the pupils’ SMSC development.

� Pupils' attainment has risen steadily against all indicators since the last inspection, so that now it is above average overall. Overall progress for the majority of pupils at both key stages, including the most vulnerable, is good and achievement, including the achievement of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, is good. While the quality of teaching in the large majority of lessons is good or outstanding, some inconsistencies remain both in and across subjects. Teaching is judged to be good. The school is highly effective in promoting the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and are keen to learn and participate, as evidenced by their excellent behaviour and above average attendance. Bullying is very rare. Behaviour and safety are outstanding. Parents and pupils are overwhelmingly positive about the school. The school has significantly improved since the last inspection in terms of outcomes for pupils and provision and has demonstrated strong capacity for improvement. Leadership and management are judged to be outstanding.

� A school with low attainment on entry, a high proportion of children for whom English is an additional language and high pupil mobility. Teaching is judged to be satisfactory as current pupils are making satisfactory progress. The school’s records show it has improved and no inadequate teaching was observed; however there was little good teaching seen and none outstanding. Value added measures show that progress in the past has been poor although the quality of learning of learning seen on inspection shows that this is beginning to improve. However satisfactory teaching is not effective enough to enable pupils to catch up sufficiently close the gap in attainment between the schools’ recent performance and the averages for all pupils. Consequently achievement is attainment between the schools’ recent performance and the averages for all pupils. Consequently achievement is judged to be inadequate. Behaviour is judged to be satisfactory – pupils are very positive about school; attendance and punctuality are very good. However the level exclusions, although falling, is high and there are still elements of unruly behaviour which concern a number of pupils and parents. Pupils and staff are responding to the vigorous leadership of the new headteacher. She and her senior team are focusing on teaching and learning but have not yet had time to implement their improvement plan or translate their high aspirations into tangible outcomes.

� Attainment on entry to this secondary school is low. A high proportion of students are from ME backgrounds and the proportion of pupils eligible for FSM is high. Attainment has been below average since the last inspection but has risen steadily. Students make good progress because of improving teaching that is judged to be good overall. Provision for students with EAL and those identified with SEN is good. The KS3 curriculum is focused on cross-curricular development of numeracy, literacy and developing thinking skills. Students in KS3 have minimal teaching in music, art or RE. In addition the provision for physical education in Key Stage 4 is limited. Attendance has improved and the school has been particularly successful in reducing the number of students who are has improved and the school has been particularly successful in reducing the number of students who are persistently absent. Behaviour has improved and is now good. There is a low incidence of bullying and racism in school, but students from White British backgrounds and those of Asian heritage coexist as separate communities within the school during unstructured time. They engage with each other in lessons, but any social interaction is very limited. The school has improved rapidly since the last inspection particularly in teaching and learning and leadership is judged good.

A new school inspection framework

Arrangements for schools judged inadequate

� The following scenarios may lead to a school receiving a notice to improve.

� The achievement of most pupils is satisfactory or better but � The achievement of most pupils is satisfactory or better but achievement is judged inadequate because of poor progress by one particular group of pupils or in one key subject, while improvements have been clearly demonstrated elsewhere.

� Teaching is judged inadequate because of weak teaching in some specific, key areas, such as the sixth form or EYFS and is not beset by endemic weakness as the majority of teaching may be satisfactory or better and there is compelling evidence about other improvements.

A new school inspection framework


� The following scenarios may lead to a school receiving a notice to improve.

� Attitudes to learning and general behaviour in lessons and � Attitudes to learning and general behaviour in lessons and around the school are satisfactory or better but behaviour and safety are judged inadequate because of persistent bullying of a particular group of pupils which the school has not tackled.

� Leadership and management are judged inadequate for a specific reason, such as the curriculum not meeting the needs of a particular group of pupils, but there is evidence of secure improvement in other key areas of the school’s work.

Changes to other aspects of the inspection frameworkinspection framework


The timing of inspections

� The current Education Bill has proposals which allow some schools to proposals which allow some schools to be exempted from section 5 inspections. The proposed legislation will allow schools judged outstanding in their previous inspection to be exempt.


� Exempt schools (those judged outstanding at their previous inspection) will not be inspected unless risk assessment shows a decline in performance or attainment gaps widen. attainment gaps widen.

� Exempt schools will still be included in subject and thematic survey inspections.

� Schools judged good at their last inspection will continue to have their inspection deferred after 3 years if risk assessment indicates no concerns.


� Schools judged satisfactory will be inspected within three years of the end the academic year in which they were last inspected.

� These schools may also receive a monitoring visit if:� These schools may also receive a monitoring visit if:

� they have been satisfactory for two consecutive inspections

� there are no main grades above satisfactory.

� Should the monitoring visit indicate little or no improvement then the school’s next full inspection may be brought forward.


Risk assessment

� Ofsted carries out a risk assessment to process to decide when schools should be inspected.

� We propose to continue with the annual process of risk assessment of good and outstanding schools starting in the third year after the school’s last inspection.


The risk assessment process will take into account:

� current attainment, progress and attendance

� changes in attainment, progress and attendance� changes in attainment, progress and attendance

� previous inspection judgements and findings from any recent survey visits

� any significant issues relating to safeguarding and parental complaints

� the views of parents and carers gathered between inspections.


The views of parents and carers

� Ofsted remains committed to gathering the views of parents and carers between the views of parents and carers between inspections to help decide when schools should be inspected.


Parent View

� Results will be published in real-time and will be available to schools, parents/carers and the general public. This will allow the comparison of results public. This will allow the comparison of results between schools. At the end of the academic year the results will be ‘frozen’ for that year and a new set of results will begin. This will allow comparisons to be made between the results for one year with another.

� We have built in safeguards to minimise the risk of the site being misused.



� We propose bring forward the first monitoring visits to these schools. We are trialling this approach in a small number of schools where the first visit replaces the school’s causing concern seminar. This enables school’s causing concern seminar. This enables inspectors to learn more about the needs of the school and to assess with the school what needs to be done to bring about rapid improvement.

� This will enable schools to demonstrate more quickly than under current arrangements that they are making the necessary improvements and so be removed from the category of concern more quickly.


Requests to inspect schools

� Any requests for inspection will be considered by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) who will decide whether to carry out an inspection.whether to carry out an inspection.

� The Education Bill proposes that HMCI should be able, in some circumstances, be able to recover the costs of an inspection requested by a school.

the new inspection arrangements for maintained schools and

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