Recent Changes to Ofsted Inspections

Ofsted have made some changes to the Self-Evaluation Form (SEF) and to the way in which Section 5 Inspections are carried out in primary-phase schools that will affect the way Governors work. Chairs of Governors will need to ensure that they and other governors become familiar with these changes. In completing the SEF, and in preparing for inspection, governors should refer to 'Using the Evaluation Schedule: guidance for inspectors' which contains advice on how to pitch judgements about the quality of education the school provides, and its outcomes.

Specific changes of note include:

	The SEF now has a separate section [4d] that asks the school to comment on the behaviour of learners and the proportion of lessons that are significantly disrupted by poor behaviour.
	Inspectors will make a separate judgement on the attendance of learners using the 'Key for Inspection Grades'. In judging attendance, inspectors will refer to SEF Section 4c where schools are asked to comment on how their absence rates compare with other schools.
	In SEF Section 6a, schools are asked to evaluate how effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards, including statutory attainment and attendance targets. This refers to a school's ability to use challenging targets for improvement across all year groups and for particular groups of pupils who may be at risk of under achieving.
	In several sections in the SEF, there is a greater emphasis on the schools' use of learners' views and on parental engagement. In particular, Section 7b asks how well the school promotes community cohesion.
	In judging the school's Capacity to Improve [SEF Section 7f], inspectors now use grade descriptors. These can be found in the 'Key for Inspection Grades' which can be found in 'Using the Evaluation Schedule: guidance for inspectors'.
	Since September 2007, inspectors have been required to write a separate paragraph on the overall effectiveness of the Foundation Stage. In part, this is in preparation for September 2008 when the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework becomes statutory.
	During inspection, inspectors will discuss how the school's extended services are contributing to pupils' personal development and well-being and raising standards. Ofsted have produced a briefing paper on this: Reference HMI 2567.
	There are a very limited number of circumstances in which it can be determined that an inspection should not go ahead on the planned dates. Each Regional Inspection Provider has a deferral policy, details of which can be found on the website.
	In July 2007, new guidance was issued to inspectors on the use of school performance data. This indicated that, "Inspection judgements are based on a far wider evidence base than the RAISE data, and include the school's most recent internal assessments and observation of learners in the classroom". This has implications for the way that the school monitors and tracks pupils' progress, and is able to demonstrate (for example, from children's books, and the work seen in classrooms) how standards and progress now differ from those in the most recent published data.

Further details of these changes, and the briefing papers referred to above can all be found at www.ofsted.gov.uk. We are planning to run briefing sessions for head teachers and Chairs of Governors over the next few months but, in the meantime, if you have any questions or need further information at this stage please don't hesitate to contact Mary Jane Edwards at the Norwich Professional Development Centre and she will be pleased to help.