We have spent the last few weeks digesting the proposals from Ofsted and DfE, and planning how we can bring together the collective voices of our members in our response and recommendations to the consultations. We know that our membership holds a wide range of views and we want to build a balanced response to allow Ofsted to review and improve their proposals. We also want to take a constructive approach to this consultation, recognising where progress has been made and highlighting where current proposals need to be improved further.
We are also aware that there are areas of collective concern that have not been addressed in the proposals and we would like to address some of these in our response.
We have focused on five areas to explore in depth with our members to build a response that outlines ways in which the framework could support schools more effectively.
These will be:
1. Inclusion: Whilst we are pleased to see inclusion as a central strand of the new inspection framework, we feel that it needs further development to truly showcase the great work many schools are doing in this area and hold those to account who do not currently prioritise inclusion in their settings. We will be hosting a workshop for school practitioners and leaders on Wednesday 12th March at 08:00 for primary/early years colleagues and on 12th March at 12:00 for Secondary/HE colleagues to develop a framework that would advocate and support inclusive practice in all schools.
Please sign up here:
Secondary and Higher Education
2. Attendance: We hear from schools and know from national data that attendance is a key barrier to learning at this time within our schools however the reasons why attendance is a growing crisis in education are complex. We would love to address the importance of belonging and wider well-being work in this area. We will be hosting a workshop for school practitioners and leaders on 17th March at 8:00 for primary/ EY colleagues and on 24th March at 8:00 for secondary/HE colleagues to develop framework suggestions to support schools in their attendance work.
Please sign up here:
Secondary and Higher Education
3. Curriculum: We have learned from Rethinking Curriculum that Ofsted plays a key role when curriculum development work does and does not succeed in schools. We are also aware the proposals have a limited focus on curriculum. We would like to know what would empower schools to focus on their curriculum development work, no matter when their inspection is due, and what should be in the framework to support schools in this work. We will be hosting roundtable discussions for primary/ EY colleagues on 19th March at 12:00 and 13th March at 12:00 for secondary/HE colleagues.
Please sign up here:
Secondary and Higher Education
4. Staffing: We wholeheartedly believe that to have successful schools we need teachers who are committed and valued in our schools. We will be advocating for the importance of professional development and entitlement for all schools to quality CPD and be sharing our findings from roundtable discussions we have planned for The Teaching Commission as well as our professionalism work. We still have availability on sessions for The Teaching Commission around Ofsted on 27th March and Recruitment and Retention; book below to be part of these discussions.
Teaching Commission Ofsted Roundtable
Teaching Commission Recruitment Roundtable
5. Consistency of experience: We hear anecdotes from members that they have had positive experiences of inspection, but we also hear from those who have not. This inconsistency of inspection is a real concern for us. We would like to hear from members who have been inspected over the past 6 months who would be willing to share their experiences and support us in developing recommendations on how Ofsted can be more consistent in their inspection approach. If you would like to share your thoughts please do so here. All personal and school information will be kept entirely confidential, and no individuals or schools will be named.
We will also be sharing a survey with all of our members shortly to give power to all voices on the key questions that the consultation is asking, and we hope that we will be able to provide a holistic and solution-focused response to the consultation.
