A more supportive and collaborative approach to short inspections
of good schools was announced by Ofsted today.
The new arrangements are set out in Ofsted’s response to
September’s consultation on changes to short
inspections. Overall, the majority of respondents supported each
of the consultation’s three proposals.
This means that from January 2018:
- · Inspectors will
continue to convert short inspections, usually within 48 hours,
if they have serious concerns about safeguarding or behaviour, or
if they think the quality of education provided by a
school has declined to inadequate.
- · When there are no
significant issues with safeguarding or behaviour, but inspectors
identify potential concerns about either the quality of education
or leadership and management, the inspection will not
convert. Instead, Ofsted will publish a letter setting out
the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. A section 5
inspection will then take place later, typically within one
to two years. This will give the school time to address any
weaknesses and seek support from appropriate bodies. In the
meantime, the letter will be clear that the school’s current
overall effectiveness judgement has not changed.
- · When inspectors
have reason to believe that a school may be improving towards an
outstanding judgement, Ofsted will publish a letter confirming
that the school is still good and setting out its strengths and
priorities for further improvement. A section 5 inspection will
then take place within one to two years, giving the school time
to consolidate its strong practice. However, requests from
schools for early inspections will be considered.
The majority of short inspections will confirm that the school
remains good and, as now, Ofsted will return to carry out another
short inspection after approximately three years.
Ofsted’s National Director of Education, Sean Harford
said:
“The process for converting short inspections to full section 5
inspections has proven challenging for both schools and
inspectors. We have been consulting with the sector on ways to
address these challenges and I’m delighted that the majority of
respondents supported our latest proposals. I’m very grateful to
everyone who took the time to engage with us.
“These new arrangements reflect our overall aim to act as a force
for improvement through inspection, and to catch schools before
they fall. We’re confident they will ensure short inspections are
responsible interventions that minimise the burden on schools,
while at the same time providing constructive support and more
time to improve.”
The consultation ran from 21 September to 8 November 2017 and was
open to the general public. In total, more than 1,500 responses
to the online questionnaire were submitted. Ofsted also gathered
responses from direct engagement with parents, headteachers,
teaching unions and professional associations.
