The Ofsted survey programme
Alongside our arrangements for regular inspections of providers, we also visit, inspect or contact providers and other bodies to gather evidence for use in our annual survey programme.
The programme focuses on educational issues considered of national significance and relevance and provides evidence on which to base advice to the Secretary of State on education, learning and care in England. The content of the programme is discussed annually with the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Besides contributing to individual survey reports, (see below), the evidence we obtain also:
- feeds into the Chief Inspector's Annual Report to give a national picture of strengths and areas for development
- provides the basis for Ofsted to disseminate findings, including good practice, through its website, conferences, talks and articles
- gives providers feedback to help them improve
- supports providers’ self-evaluation.
Although there are some exceptions, our regular inspections do not, in general, provide the detailed evidence we need, so we obtain this evidence through additional visits and inspections, and sometimes by sending questionnaires or making telephone calls to providers and other bodies. The majority (over 900 each year) of our survey visits to providers are inspections of subjects in primary and secondary schools.
In the financial year 2009-10, our survey programme covers all subjects in primary and secondary schools, and areas of learning in the Foundation Stage. In addition, there are over 20 national surveys covering a range of initiatives and important topics in education, learning and care. For example, in the year, those surveys include looking at the system for Special Educational Needs, Girls and Young women’s Achievement, Literacy; we will also be evaluating serious case reviews and reporting on the impact of integrated youth support.
Most surveys entail visits to, or inspections of, a number of providers.
How long is a survey visit or inspection, and what does it include?
The answer depends on the nature of the survey. Where we do carry out an inspection (these are done mainly in schools and colleges), primary schools (including middle-deemed primary schools) and any Foundation Stage settings should expect an inspection to last up to one day, while secondary schools and colleges, should expect the inspector to spend up to two days on site. There will always be oral feedback before the inspector leaves. Visits to other providers may last only an hour or two and we may even telephone some providers instead of visiting. Visits may look at the work of the provision or we may ask about the support they feel they receive or need.
Survey inspections and visits comprise a mixture of direct observation, (for example, in a classroom), discussions with staff and learners, and a scrutiny of their work and other documentation, such as schemes of work.
How we schedule visits and inspections
How are providers chosen for a survey?
For our rolling programme of subject surveys, we select samples of schools across England. For other surveys, schools and other providers will be selected according to the needs of the survey. They might be selected because of their location, their children or learners, local authority or type of provision, or because they have been identified as having good practice in certain subjects or areas.
How much notice?
As with the regular inspections, providers will generally have short notice of a survey visit or inspection. Schools, particularly primary schools, may be given slightly longer notice to make sure that say, the subject being surveyed is actually being taught when the inspection takes place, or that key staff are available for discussions. However, the period of notice will not usually be more than two weeks.
How often do these inspections happen?
Survey visits and inspections are additional to Ofsted’s regular inspections and will not closely follow a regular inspection. The likelihood of receiving a survey visit will depend on the type of provider. Secondary schools and colleges could have up to three survey inspections between their regular inspections, while for primary schools and other providers, they will usually be less frequent and in many instances, a provider may never receive one.
Who carries out the subject and survey inspections?
The inspections will be carried out by specialist inspectors employed by Ofsted, with the relevant expertise in the particular subject, aspect or field.
What evaluation criteria do you use for survey work?
- Subject surveys Subject inspections are carried out to our standard criteria – Guidance on making judgements during subject survey visits to schools – and usually have a specific focus on an issue felt to be important nationally in the subject. The nature of this issue, together with dialogue based on the provider’s own evaluation, will determine the precise balance of inspection activity.
- Other surveys In the case of surveys that examine a specific theme or a particular aspect of provision, the survey team will agree guidance for visiting inspectors including evaluation criteria for each of the survey’s key questions. Wherever possible, the evaluation criteria will be based on the relevant sections of existing inspection frameworks. This will be treated as a working document for the duration of the survey and will be shared with providers during the survey visit.
What about self-evaluation?
A survey inspector should not seek any new paperwork from a provider but they may ask to see for example: any self-evaluations, departmental reviews, subject leaders’ reviews and action plans in primary schools or work that a provider may have carried out related to the survey topic. It is important that the inspector gives the institution an opportunity to say what it thinks about the subject or aspect topic. This provides a basis for a thorough discussion during, and at the end of, the visit.
Will providers get feedback?
Our Code of Conduct and inspection principles mean that providers should always receive feedback. Where time allows, individuals seen (such as teachers) should also be able to discuss with the inspector what he or she has observed and commented upon. Ongoing dialogue with the provider and oral feedback is a key feature of our survey visits and inspections.
At the end of visit or inspection, the dialogue will culminate in a detailed feedback discussion with the provider and/or key members of staff.
Often, schools will wish to have a local authority representative present at this feedback session together with a relevant governor. The inspector will discuss findings and judgements to provide a level of detail that will not be included in any feedback letter sent.
Again, depending on the nature of the survey, most providers will receive a short feedback letter soon afterwards, setting out the inspector’s findings and noting any areas for development. But in some cases, the letter may simply thank the provider for information given in the context of a wider survey that is not concerned with the quality of the provider.
What is published?
All visits and inspections feed evidence into the final survey report and nearly all survey reports are published on our website. A survey report may list those providers seen as part of the survey but will not usually name them in the body of the report, and certainly not without their permission.
Most feedback letters to providers are also published on our website. Even where we do not do this, (for example, where we have visited to record an example of good practice) the letter will be available to the inspector(s) for the next regular inspection. They will be interested in the impact of the visit and the provider’s response made to any recommendations. Where appropriate, schools are expected to share the feedback with their school improvement partner or local authority link officer.