Following a consultation, we
will inspect using our new education
inspection framework (EIF) from September
2019.
The new framework sets out how we will inspect:
- state schools
- further education and skills providers
- non-association independent schools
- registered early years settings
Changes to inspections
Inspection will focus on the real substance of
education, the curriculum.
Inspectors will spend less time looking at test data,
and more time looking at what is taught and how it is
taught. They will consider how a nursery, school,
college or other education provider achieves its
results.
We want to make sure that good results flow from
teaching a broad, rich curriculum and reflect real
learning, not just intensive preparation for a test.
We will be grading schools and other providers on the
areas that matter most to parents:
- the quality of education
- behaviour and attitudes
- personal development
- leadership and management
What inspections will include
Inspectors will look at how a school contributes to
pupils’ broader development, including their character,
citizenship and resilience. They will also look at how
the school manages behaviour, low-level disruption and
bullying, so that parents can be assured that the
school is one in which pupils are safe and able to
learn.
Inspectors will check that school leaders are behaving
with integrity by putting children’s interests first.
This includes checking that schools do not enter pupils
for qualifications that are inappropriate for the child
but that may have a positive impact on the school’s
published performance data.
Inspectors will also check that schools are not
removing pupils from the school’s roll without a
formal, permanent exclusion when this is not in the
child’s best interests. We refer to this as
‘off-rolling’.
Inspection reports
We want to give parents clear and helpful information.
This is to reassure parents about the education
children are receiving now, as well as informing
choices about their children’s future education.
Our reports will be shorter and clearer. They will tell
parents what it’s like to be a child in that school,
what the school is doing well and what it could be
doing better.
We will keep our current grading system of:
- outstanding
- good
- requires improvement
- inadequate
It is not just about exam results.
Reports will tell you what behaviour is like at the
school, how it tackles bullying, and whether children
are learning the things they need to learn to get ahead
in life.
We hope the changes we are making will help parents to
make informed decisions about their children’s
education.
