Management Information Sheet
Ofsted Inspection/ SEF Developments
By now everyone will be aware of the announcement by the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP (Secretary of State Department of Education), in relation to SEFs and the future direction of Ofsted inspections. He issued a press statement on the 23rd September and followed this up with a speech to the Foundation and Aided Schools National Association (FASNA) in which he outlined his views on the refocusing of Ofsted inspections.
Michael Gove has stated that he intends to remove the requirement for schools to complete a SEF (in fact this has never been statutory!) He then followed up this statement by saying that schools are very familiar with self evaluation, and he sees this move as allowing schools to develop their own tailored approaches to effectively monitor their performance. Michael Gove goes on to state, that schools need direction for support in developing their own self assessment arrangements and that the Ofsted inspection evaluation schedule is a useful starting point. Also schools and LAs can share their best practice.
In a letter to HMCI Christine Gilbert, he stated that he looked forward to working with her more closely on how to move the inspection process forward. This will include Ofsted revising its current framework to focus on 4 principle areas:
As a result it will mean inspectors no longer spending time monitoring compliance with peripheral issues, but instead concentrating on improving standards in education. However, there are several key points we must bear in mind:
As a consequence Norfolk Children's Services have started the process to develop a recommended Norfolk Local Authority framework for the effective review of school performance. When this is developed we will be sharing with schools our proposed model and making it available for any school who wishes to use it. As soon as the Ofsted evaluation schedule is available we will be finalising our model to meet the new Ofsted requirements.
We will keep you updated in relation to developments but if you have any points you would wish to discuss please do not hesitate to contact Terry Cook, Head of Early Years, Schools and Colleges Improvement and Organisation Tel: 01603-307778 email: terry.cook@norfolk.gov.uk.
Michael Gove has stated that he intends to remove the requirement for schools to complete a SEF (in fact this has never been statutory!) He then followed up this statement by saying that schools are very familiar with self evaluation, and he sees this move as allowing schools to develop their own tailored approaches to effectively monitor their performance. Michael Gove goes on to state, that schools need direction for support in developing their own self assessment arrangements and that the Ofsted inspection evaluation schedule is a useful starting point. Also schools and LAs can share their best practice.
In a letter to HMCI Christine Gilbert, he stated that he looked forward to working with her more closely on how to move the inspection process forward. This will include Ofsted revising its current framework to focus on 4 principle areas:
| The quality of teaching | |||
| The effectiveness of leadership | |||
| Pupils' behaviour and safety | |||
| Pupils' achievement |
As a result it will mean inspectors no longer spending time monitoring compliance with peripheral issues, but instead concentrating on improving standards in education. However, there are several key points we must bear in mind:
| a) | there is no timescale set for Ofsted to cease to recommend the use of a SEF on its inspections |
| b) | Ofsted will keep the SEF website open so that schools can still access the online SEF |
| c) | the Secretary of State will still require schools to undertake their own self evaluation to ensure they effectively review performance (and it will be a requirement in the Ofsted inspection process that schools produce this evidence for an inspection team), schools will need to have their own school self evaluation system (schools may wish to keep their SEF/ SEF-like format). |
As a consequence Norfolk Children's Services have started the process to develop a recommended Norfolk Local Authority framework for the effective review of school performance. When this is developed we will be sharing with schools our proposed model and making it available for any school who wishes to use it. As soon as the Ofsted evaluation schedule is available we will be finalising our model to meet the new Ofsted requirements.
We will keep you updated in relation to developments but if you have any points you would wish to discuss please do not hesitate to contact Terry Cook, Head of Early Years, Schools and Colleges Improvement and Organisation Tel: 01603-307778 email: terry.cook@norfolk.gov.uk.