Ofsted Inspections – Outstanding Schools – Phonics

By mattwoNo Comments
In this series of articles, we are looking at Ofsted inspectors' comments made when inspecting "outstanding" schools. In this article, we'll see what those comments were regarding phonics. Comparison with the National Average As might be expected for outstanding schools, the percentage of pupils who have passed the Year 1 phonics is above the national average. And it generally is not a one-off. Attainment in the phonics screening check is consistently above national expectations. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been consistently above the national average for the last three years. Inspectors also look at those pupils who don't pass in Year 1. Nearly all of them (but not necessarily 100%) pass by the end of Year 2. Most of the very small number of pupils not achieving the standard by the end of Year 1 go on to meet it by the end of Year 2. By the end of Year 2, almost...
Read More

Ofsted Inspections – Outstanding Schools – Attainment

By mattwoNo Comments
In this series of articles, we are looking at 42 primary-phase schools which Ofsted has deemed to be "outstanding". In this article, we'll have a look at attainment. Outcomes exceeding National Standards Perhaps unsurprising for "outstanding" schools, school's attainment is above average: The proportion of current pupils achieving higher standards in reading and mathematics in Year 6 is well above the most recent national averages...By the end of key stage 1, pupils attain standards that are consistently above those of other pupils nationally in reading, writing, mathematics and science.Pupils' excellent personal skills, as well as their academic achievements, mean that they are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education. In 2018, 98% of Year 6 pupils attained the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. Ofsted's inspectors sometimes comment on why this is: ... because of the high expectations of staff and very effective teaching. The highly positive outcomes in mathematics are due to leaders’ highly effective approach to teaching and assessing...
Read More

Ofsted Inspections – Good Schools – SEND

By mattwoNo Comments
In this series of articles, we look at Ofsted inspector's comments regarding 80 schools which were deemed to be "good" overall. In this article, we'll have a look at comments relating to pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities (also known as SEND). The Ofsted Inspection Handbook (as of September 2018) states: Inspectors will consider the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities in relation to the progress of all pupils nationally with similar starting points. Inspectors will examine the impact of funded support for them on removing any differences in progress and attainment. The expectation is that the identification of special educational needs leads to additional or different arrangements being made and a consequent improvement in progress. For groups of pupils whose cognitive ability is such that their attainment is unlikely ever to rise above ‘low’, the judgement on outcomes will be based on an evaluation of the pupils’ learning and progress relative to their starting points at particular...
Read More

Ofsted Inspections – Good Schools – Progress

By mattwoNo Comments
This series of articles examines the comments of Ofsted Inspectors from 80 full inspections of schools which were deemed to be "good". Previous articles have looked at Ofsted's comments regarding attainment at KS2. This article looks at progress. Progress Whilst inspectors have advanced knowledge of the school's progress at the end of Key Stage 2, as calculated by the DfE, and the 5 levels (e.g. "below average", "well above average") which are displayed on the DfE's website, this headline measure was often not explicitly commented on by inspectors. When it was, the measures showed the school to be broadly in line with national averages: Progress in writing across key stage 2 has improved steadily since the last inspection and is now broadly average.As a result, pupils’ progress in mathematics improved from well below average to average...Progress has also improved during this time and is in line with other schools nationally. Pupils’ progress from the end of key stage 1 to the end of...
Read More

Ofsted inspections – Good schools – Other subjects

By mattwoNo Comments
This series of articles analyses Ofsted inspectors' comments in their judgements about "good" schools. Other articles have focused on attainment and progress in Reading, Writing, Maths and Phonics. This article has a look at Ofsted inspectors' comments for "Outcomes for pupils" for other subjects. GPS (English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling) Ofsted's inspectors commented on English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling ("GPS" - also known as "EPGS" or "SPaG") in around a third of these reports. Please note - to improve readability, we have changed the phrase "grammar, punctuation and spelling" in the following quotes to GPS. Around half of these reports commented on the attainment level at the end of Key Stage 2, some positively: Pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and GPS has remained above the national average figures for the past three years....the proportion achieving and exceeding the expected standard in GPS was exceptionally high in 2018.Provisional results indicate that the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level...
Read More

Ofsted Inspections – Good Schools – Key Stage 1

By mattwoNo Comments
This series of articles looks at the Ofsted inspectors' comments on 80 "good" schools. This article looks at their comments for Key Stage 1. A lot of inspectors comments focus on Phonics, particularly in Year 1. Please see our article on Phonics for a further analysis of these comments. The Expected Standard Unlike previous years, where inspectors could look at specific progress from Early Years for Emerging, Expected and Exceeding pupils, inspectors only have quantified data for all pupils and disadvantaged pupils. For most of these schools, the school was at or above the National Average: The proportions of pupils reaching the expected and greater-depth standards are broadly in line with national averages. Standards at the end of key stage 1 in reading, writing and mathematics are above the national averages. Pupils attained above the national average at the expected standard in 2018 at key stage 1 ... in national tests. When standards were below the National Average, inspectors highlight it, together with any...
Read More

Ofsted Inspections – Good Schools – Pupils’ work

By mattwo1 Comment
This series of articles analyses Ofsted inspectors' comments in their judgements about "good" schools. This article looks at the role of examining pupils' books. The new Ofsted Inspection framework In the School Inspection update of January 2019, Ofsted said that, under the new Ofsted framework, 53. ...In doing so, inspectors will not review a school’s internal performance data for current pupils. 61. Inspectors will not consider schools’ internal performance data for current pupils during an inspection. ... This is because: internal data for current pupils has its limitations for us...inspectors will have meaningful discussions with leaders about how they know that the curriculum is having an impactinspectors will gather first-hand evidence of the quality of education in schools. The first-hand evidence sources including: 54. ...Inspectors will listen to pupils read and look at examples of pupils’ work for evidence of progression in knowledge, understanding and skills towards defined endpoints So what does pupils' works show under the current framework? Works in books Under the current...
Read More

Ofsted Inspections – Good Schools – Phonics

By mattwo1 Comment
In this series of articles, we are looking at Ofsted inspectors' comments regarding 80 "good" schools. This article examines the importance of phonics. Phonics Under the new Ofsted framework, Amanda Spielman has stated that there will be a focus on early reading and the teaching of phonics in primary schools. However, this doesn't mean that it isn't already a focus. Year 1 compared to the National Average Ofsted inspectors found that, generally in these "good" schools, the attainment of phonics was at or above the National Average - in 6 of these 80 schools, it was "well above" average: In 2018, the proportion of pupils in Year 1 achieving the expected standard in the phonics screening check increased considerably, and is now well above average.The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check is above the national average, and has been for the past three years. When this hasn't happened, inspectors want to know that the school is...
Read More

Ofsted Inspections – Good Schools – Disadvantaged Pupils

By mattwoNo Comments
This series of articles is about Ofsted inspectors' comments about "good" schools. This article looks at the role of disadvantaged pupils. Disadvantaged Pupils Disadvantaged pupils are defined as: Pupils who have been eligible for Free Schools Meals (FSM) at any point over the last 6 years, Pupils who have been looked after continuously for at least one day in the last year, and Pupils who have left care through a formal route such as adoption. In its School Inspection Handbook, Ofsted states that: Inspectors will take particular account of the progress made by disadvantaged pupils from their starting points...compared with that made nationally by other pupils with similar starting points. ... For current pupils, inspectors will consider the impact of what a school is doing to reduce any differences in progress and attainment between disadvantaged and other pupils with the same starting points. ... Inspectors should talk to leaders about the quality of teaching, behaviour and the design and delivery of the curriculum to examine why there may be...
Read More

Ofsted inspections – Good schools – most able pupils

By mattwo1 Comment
In this series of articles about "good" schools (according to Ofsted), we'll be looking at Ofsted inspectors' comments regarding high prior attaining pupils. This article is about most able pupils. School Inspection Handbook Paragraph 195 of the most recent Ofsted School Inspection Handbook (September 2018) includes: Inspectors will pay particular attention to whether the most able pupils are making progress towards attaining the highest standards and achieving as well as they should across the curriculum. They will also consider whether the most able pupils are receiving the support they need to reach their full potential. However, as we have previously seen (Greater Depth/High Score Standards), Ofsted's comments regarding the higher standard inclined towards schools being below the National Average. So what do the same inspectors say about the most able pupils. Achieving results Away from the attainment statistics, Ofsted inspectors are more appreciative of the ability of high prior attainers and, when matched up with appropriate expectations, they achieving the results expected for them: The most...
Read More