Summer Term 2009

As part of the consultation process, in preparation for the new Ofsted framework there will be a number of pilot inspections undertaken nationally during the summer term 2009. Norfolk Local Authority will be participating in this Pilot Inspection Project.

In May 2008 Ofsted published formal proposals for a new inspection framework in its document "A Focus on Improvement: Proposals for Maintained School Inspections from September 2009". There then followed a three-month consultation before Ofsted published its actions in response to the consultation. The result was to prepare a new draft framework and revised School Self Evaluation Form (SEF) which would then be piloted and reviewed as a result of the outcomes from the pilot.

The participation of Norfolk in this programme will provide a number of positive outcomes. Not only will we be able to contribute at first hand our views on the proposals, but we will also have an early sight of the new framework and SEF, see it in operation, and gain experience from the exercise that we can then share with schools prior to the new inspection process starting in September 2009. Not all schools being inspected in Norfolk during the summer term 2009 will be part of the new pilot project, only a selection of schools will take part. These schools will be chosen from the list that Ofsted has already identified for inspection during the summer term. The pilot inspections will be carried out under Section 8 of the Inspection Act and will be deemed as Section 5 inspections, and thus the pilot schools will not receive another section 5 inspection in the academic year 2008/09. Reports of the inspections will be published in the same way as for Section 5 inspections.

For those schools invited to be part of the pilot project, the headteachers will be invited with Local Authority representatives to a briefing meeting at the end of March 2009. In addition they will be invited to an evaluation conference with Ofsted on 13^th July 2009. The arrangements for the inspection will be similar to currently ie almost all schools will receive two working days notice of the inspection, they will receive phone confirmation that the inspection will take place, and a pre-inspection briefing document. There will be no more than two days inspection on site, and HMI will explain to the schools the process of the inspection both during and after the on-site visit.

Unless your school is invited to a pilot inspection briefing on 26^th March 2009 you will not be part of the pilot inspection process during the summer term. However, it is the intention of the Local Authority to provide briefing sessions that will be open to all schools during the summer term in preparation for the new inspection process, beginning in September 2009. Currently legislation is going through Parliament to enable the relevant statutory provision to be in place for September 2009.