Ofsted’s North East Report: A Snapshot

3rd October 2017

Ofsted’s North East Report: A Snapshot
ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 BY SCHOOLSNORTHEASTIN LATEST NEWSLEAVE A COMMENT
The Event: Keeping up to date with short inspections, governance and SEND outcomes

Quality Hotel Boldon, Monday 25th September 2017

‘The one constant in your life is change’ – those were the words of Cathy Kirby, Regional Director of Ofsted for the North East, Yorkshire and Humber at the SCHOOLS NorthEast Ofsted event this week at Boldon.

Speaking to two packed sessions of nearly 400 Heads and Governors from around the region, HMIs for the North East told delegates how it had been a positive year so far for North East schools, and how they would be implementing any change in future.

Ofsted first asked delegates how many times they thought the word ‘impact’ appeared in the Inspection Handbook. The answer was 40. How impactful a school is in terms of leadership, management and understanding the needs of the most vulnerable pupils is high on their agenda, and will continue to be so in future, as will be the curriculum, even when change comes to the Common Inspection Framework in September 2019.

Speaking at the event, Cathy Kirby said: “(The) curriculum is crucial to build a solid foundation for our children’s future.

“We will be emphasising our efforts in looking outward to develop our understanding more in future.”

Inspection Update – the Stats

Susanne Lithgow and Joanne Hewitt, HMIs for North East and Humberside, were positive in their analysis of school inspections in comparison to 2016.

“As of 30th June 2017, 89% of all schools in the UK were given a rating of Good or Outstanding. 90% of Primaries received these ratings with 79% of Secondary schools achieving the same.

“Overall, the outlook is good. 1 in 10 Primary schools are rated less than good, however for Secondary schools it is 1 in 4. For Special Schools, 6% of those inspected are less than good, which is an improvement on results from 2016.”

Ofsted HMIs also noted the rise in Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) in the education stratosphere. Since 2016, 700 schools have closed but most have reopened as academies and there are now nearly 1,000 MATs in the country, up by 200 from 2016. That also means that over 2 million pupils are educated in a MAT.

The number of MATs with more than nine schools in their Trust has also risen from 2016 to 100.

Safeguarding

Ofsted were keen to emphasise the importance of analysing safeguarding in schools, and how it is judged in inspection. The three key areas, Ofsted said, were “Identify, Help and Manage”.

“Leaders and managers create a positive environment of safeguarding. Ofsted wants to focus on the practice of safeguarding, rather than the policies. We need to focus on what is happening on the ground.

“If the policy is weak the practice of safeguarding can still be good and vice versa – but the good thing is that both scenarios can be put right.”

Governance

Belita Scott, one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors, told delegates at both sessions how vital the role of a Governor was for any school.

Belita said: “There are 300,000 Governors in the UK, making it the biggest volunteer network in the country. We spoke to the Ofsted Parents Panel and they said that Governors are the ‘unsung heroes’ of schools, and we would certainly agree.

“Governors have significant influence on schools and have such an in-depth knowledge of where they govern; this should never be overlooked.”

Ofsted informed the Heads and Governors in attendance that they had looked into the practices of schools in the UK who had jumped two grades from either Requires Improvement (RI) to Outstanding or from Inadequate to Good and they had one conclusion:

“The reason these schools had succeeded in such a way was due to the good practice on behalf of the Governors – they were key in making their schools so successful.”

SEND Outcomes

Nick Whittaker, one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors, was keen to inform delegates of how they are looking into the leadership and management of Special Schools and, when inspecting, they want to clarify how leaders and Governors are ‘best using their endeavours to meet the needs’.

Nick said: “We should not group all SEN children’s needs together. They are not a homogeneous group and all have different starting points. We need to find out what the individual’s starting point is and what their outcomes are.”

The main points that Ofsted will look at when inspecting SEN Schools are:

·         Are pupils’ needs assessed in a timely way?

·         Are children and their families adding to the effectiveness?

·         What can we do to accelerate the child’s progress?

·         Are pupil’s needs met?

·         Is the curriculum the right one for the child to use?

·        Is there evidence for a child to achieve their outcomes, is it ambitious, is it challenging?

 

Want to join a SCHOOLS NorthEast event? Have a look at what’s coming up here