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Press release: The shape of school inspection from 2012

Associated resources

With a sharper focus on the judgements that matter most; even more time spent in the classroom, and a continued drive on raising standards, especially in reading, Ofsted has today published details of how the inspection of maintained schools will change from January 2012.

The new arrangements, which reflect provisions in the Education Bill, follow an extensive consultation and detailed piloting of the proposals in schools. Building on the strengths of the current system they are designed to ensure that inspection will have an even stronger impact on driving improvements in education and raising achievement for all pupils.  

Inspectors will concentrate on four key areas: the achievement of pupils; the quality of teaching and learning; the effectiveness of leadership and management and standards of behaviour and safety in schools. This sharper focus will enable inspectors to look more closely at what matters most in schools, spending even more time observing lessons, including listening to children reading in primary schools, assessing the progress of the pupils and taking a closer look at behaviour.

Launching the new inspection arrangements, Miriam Rosen HMCI said:

“At this time of change in the education sector, Ofsted inspections have a vital role to play in ensuring school accountability.  It is increasingly important that we focus on the key aspects of schools’ work and make sure we use our resources where they have the most impact. That is why we have streamlined our inspection process to focus on what matters most – to pupils, parents and schools. Inspectors will spend even more time in the classroom observing teaching and learning, with a renewed emphasis on reading and literacy skills. Behaviour and how safe children feel will also be closely scrutinised.

“Over 1,300 responses to our two-month consultation and nearly 150 pilot inspections have helped shape the new arrangements, which I am confident will ensure inspection continues to drive up standards.”

Ofsted will adopt an increasingly proportionate approach to inspection targeting those schools that most need to improve. Subject to the passage of the Education Bill outstanding schools will no longer have routine inspections unless there are concerns about their performance. They will continue to have survey inspections. Good schools will continue to be inspected in a five year cycle with satisfactory schools inspected every three years unless particular concerns emerge. 

Key to this will be Ofsted’s risk assessment of good and outstanding schools that will identify if performance has declined and an inspection needs to take place. There will also be more routine monitoring visits of satisfactory schools which do not appear to be improving; alongside a continuing programme of regular monitoring for schools in a category of concern.

As part of the risk assessment of schools, as well as looking at a range of performance information, including test and examination results, Ofsted will also consider the views of parents and carers about their child’s school in response to a new questionnaire on the Ofsted website. This will be launched in October. 

Under the new inspection arrangements Ofsted will no longer make a standard Self Evaluation Form (SEF) available to schools, although evidence from the school’s self evaluation will still form a key part of the inspection as evidence of the effectiveness of the school in knowing its strengths and weaknesses. The range of grading judgments – from inadequate to outstanding; the duration and notice periods for inspection will remain the same. A key part of the inspection process will continue to be the involvement of school leaders in carrying out joint lesson observations and attending the inspectors’ team meetings.

Ofsted is committed to working with schools in the lead up to the implementation of the new inspection framework to ensure that there is a good understanding of how the new arrangements will work. A series of dissemination conferences will take place throughout October, and senior Ofsted staff will be speaking at over 50 local authority events around the country before the end of the year.

Headteachers who experienced the new inspection arrangements as part of the pilot process have responded positively to the changes.

Alan Brookes, Headteacher of Fulston Manor School commented: “We thought the new framework placed a lot more emphasis on the things that are really important in schools. We were particularly pleased about the quality of the report that came out at the end which was a lot more personal than previous reports”.

While Jane Fearnley, Headteacher of Herringthorpe Junior School remarked:  “My experience of the new inspection framework was a very positive one. The biggest difference was the professional dialogue. Our own school data was taken into account in terms of pupils’ progress, and that’s important.  The inspector listened to children read and the children valued that, while the staff valued that our outstanding practice in reading was identified and also the supportive way areas for development were discussed and encouraged.”

From January 2012, school inspections will:

• report on four key judgements:
  • the achievement of pupils at the school
  • the quality of teaching in the school
  • the quality of leadership and management of the school
  • the behaviour and safety of pupils at the school
• take account of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils when judging the overall effectiveness of the school
• give more emphasis to reporting on pupils’ behaviour, with particular attention to conduct in lessons and around the school, and each pupil’s safety from bullying and harassment
• take account of the extent to which the education provided by the school meets the needs of all the pupils at the school, and in particular those pupils who have a disability and pupils who have special educational needs
• take particular account of pupils’ attainment and rates of progress when evaluating achievement
• focus strongly on standards of reading and numeracy in primary schools and literacy in secondary schools, including observing pupils reading in primary schools
• report on the effectiveness of the sixth form and early years provision within the other reporting areas rather than as separate sections
• report on the breadth and balance of the curriculum and its contribution to improving achievement for all pupils in every inspection report.

Notes to editors

1. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.
2. The framework and evaluation schedule for inspection are published on Ofsted’s website www.ofsted.gov.uk in draft as these are both subject to the final passage of the Education Bill.
3. Media can contact the Ofsted Press Office through 020 7421 5911 or via Ofsted's enquiry line 0300 1231231 between 8.30am - 6.00pm Monday - Friday. Out of these hours, during evenings and weekends, the duty press officer can be reached on 07919 057359

Associated resources

• The framework for school inspection from January 2012: an introduction
• The evaluation schedule for the inspection of maintained schools and academies from January 2012

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