Category: Ofsted

The new Ofsted Inspection Framework speaks a lot about Curriculum. Whilst the new directed focus has been welcomed, there is a lot of misunderstanding about what this means in practice. Schools are buying in help from outside sources against Ofsted Advice and Ofsted are constantly claiming there is no "Ofsted curriculum". So what will inspectors be looking for in your school curriculum from September 2019 onwards? What do they mean by a good or outstanding "quality of education"? In this article, we hope to help answer these questions by looking at Amanda Spielman's recent speech, the results of the Ofsted research project and the Ofsted School inspection Handbook. Amanda Spielman In a speech in 2019 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Amanda Spielman was discussing the Ofsted research into Curriculum and what this means moving forward. The quality of education judgement does consider how well pupils are doing in national assessments and qualifications. But this should be the reflection of what children have...

In our previous article, we had a look at Ofsted indicators regarding strong/weak Curriculum Design. In this article, we'll have a look at some of Ofsted's concerns. Curriculum Design What is curriculum? Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector of Ofsted, has said: The curriculum really is the most important thing to think about as educators. As I said earlier, it’s the ‘what’. The very essence of what we want children to learn. It’s how we prepare them, as best we can, for what they might face next. And to leave children unprepared is, frankly, a dereliction of duty, I’m sure you’d agree. ... Sequencing does have a part to play here. ... So a degree of signposting, of showing children the way, is needed. It’s not enough to simply put everything out there and hope that something sticks.This isn’t about having some beautiful tick list of what a child should do, and when. If a child is having difficulty with something, it’s about stepping in...

In previous articles, we took a look at what Ofsted's inspections under the new Inspection Framework will look like from September 2019, and how they may assess Work Scrutinies and Lesson Visits. In this article, we will look at how Ofsted may assess Curriculum design, based on the results of the research project that took place to help create the new Framework. Assessment of Curriculum The 25 indicators used in the research model will no doubt be narrowed down by the first inspections in September 2019. They revolved around: Intent Rationale, Ambition, Concepts, Implementation Subject leadership, Subject knowledge, Equitable delivery, Planning the progression model, Breadth and depth, and Assessment. Of the 25 quality indicators, Ofsted's research has found that some of them were either more highly correlated with each other in models or were considered by Inspectors are more essential. These are: Intent There is a clear and coherent rationale for the curriculum design. The curriculum is at least as ambitious as the standards set by the national curriculum/external qualifications. Curriculum principles include the requirements of centrally prescribed aims Implementation Subject...

So what is a Deep Dive? During an inspection, inspectors are not going to concentrate on the ambitions or intentions of senior leaders, but rather "let's see that in action together". The Deep Dives are principally to gather evidence in relation to "quality of education", and the lesson visits can also gather evidence in relation to "behaviour and attitudes". They will have a series of deep dives on particular subjects: For secondary schools, they will sample four to six subjects. For primary schools, they will sample three to five subjects. It will always include reading, it will usually include maths, and there will also be one or more foundation subjects, including one that is taught during the inspection. In small schools, this may be adapted as appropriate. Evidence Each deep dive will look at the following, usually jointly with school and curriculum leaders, and will try to connect these different pieces of evidence: Senior Leaders Evaluating intent for the curriculum including their understanding of its implementation and impact. Curriculum...