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June 13, 2011

Ofsted should not be abolished

Filed under: 2011 — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:57 pm

The House of Commons Select Committee on Education has considered arguments for the abolition of Ofsted, and decided that it should stay.

However, the agency needs to clear up the confusion between its roles as an inspection body and as an improvement agency, by making it clear that its role is to say what needs to improve, but not how it should improve.

The National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) suggested to the committee that the focus should be about ‘a supportive process that is about school improvement and driving that forward.’ Some 84% respondents to a NAHT poll reported that the current inspection system did not accelerate improvement.

Researchers from the Department of Economics at the University of Keele presented evidence that Ofsted inspections had an adverse impact on the examination performance of schools in the year of an ofsted inspection.

‘The efforts required by teaching staff in responding to the demands of the school inspection system,’ suggested Keele’s Les Rosenthal, ‘are great enough to divert resources from teaching so as to affect pupil achievement in the year of the visit.’

Professor Nick Foskett, also from Keele, suggested that Ofsted could generate more improvement if it were to engage schools in a more thoughtful and creative way, rather than adopting an approach which ‘does not encourage lateral thinking and creativity in different modes that don’t quite match the Ofsted wary of working.

Members of the committee visited Finland, which has no formal inspection system, and noted that the lack of stress meant that relations between central and local government are amiable.

The committed concluded however, that  ‘variations in school performance explained by socio economic intake means external evaluation remains important.’ For England.

John Dunford, chair of Whole Education, observed that it was not the fault of Ofsted that the main accountability measure for secondary schools of % A*-C grades at GCSE is a ‘stupid measure.’ There is a simple answer to every question,’ he remarked, ‘and it is usually wrong, because there always are complex issues, particularly in a place such as a school. So you need something that has a degree of complexity about it.’

The role and performance of Ofsted, second report of session 2010-11 (HC 570-1) can be downloaded from here.

February 22, 2010

Shaping a culture where everyone contributes to school improvement

Filed under: 2010, February — Tags: , , — admin @ 2:42 pm

Ofsted’s fifth report on workforce reform calls for ‘a fundamental shift in the culture of schools’ towards a situation where everyone has a role in shaping strategies to improve schools.

The report highlights a key finding of Antidote’s work: the value of drawing on the observations made by support staff, and the need to ensure they can work collaboratively with teachers.

 ‘The most effective leaders,’ the report says, ‘realised that structural changes in the workforce needed to be supported by a regular framework of meetings during which support staff could contribute to planning and provide feedback on pupils’ progress.’

One teacher is quoted as describing a teaching assistant as her ‘eyes and ears’; another talked about her colleague’s role in identifying ‘the invisible child.’

The report notes that there are still some schools where the only briefings that support staff receive are ‘during spare moments between lessons or though impromptu conversations in the staff room.’

Workforce reform in schools: has it made a difference – an evaluation of changes made to the school workforce 2003-2009 (080263) can be downloaded from here.

Creative learning is possible

Filed under: 2010, February — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 2:35 pm

Ofsted has produced a response to those who argue that the National Curriculum is too narrowly prescriptive to allow creative approaches to learning to flourish.

Describing creative approaches to learning as characterised by questioning and challenging; making connections and seeing relationships; exploring ideas and reflecting critically on ideas, actions and outcomes, the report’s authors argue that there is ‘no conflict’ between such approaches and the National Curriculum.

They recognise, though, that teachers need to feel confident that ‘the aims and objectives of creative approaches to learning are worth pursuing’ and that they provide a successful preparation for external assessment.

Creative approaches, the report argues, are effective in breaking down the barriers to learning and improving achievement because ‘the emphasis placed by staff on learning being a collaborative business, founded on investigation and first hand experience, encouraged pupils to feel safe in contributing their ideas, being inventive, making connections and experimenting with practical approaches to problem-solving.’

Learning: creative approaches that raise standards (080266) can be downloaded from here.

January 19, 2010

Making self-evaluation central to accountability

Filed under: 2010, January — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 1:45 pm

Schools improve through meaningful and continuous self-evaluation, says the Children, Schools and Families Committee in its latest report.

Self-evaluation, the committee argues, should be a ‘liberating and constructive’ process of gathering information about life and learning in the school.’ The reason this is not always the case is because Ofsted’s (voluntary) self-evaluation form (SEF) reinforces the idea of self-evaluation as a disruptive ‘tick-box’ event.

The committee urges Ofsted to work harder at encouraging schools ‘to be creative and produce evidence of the self-evaluation process which works for them and speaks to the true culture and ethos of their own school’. This would involve giving full weight to ‘alternative forms of evidence’.

It also asks that external inspection be designed to support self-evaluation by being a positive experience which ‘reinforces good practice and ‘fosters dialogue’.

The committee also urges the government ‘to do everything possible to enable schools’ to conduct a good self-evaluation process by:

  • stopping the endless flow of reforms
  • allowing schools a period of consolidation
  • reducing the emphasis on Achievement and Attainment tables
  • putting more emphasis on local authorities collaborating than on government intervening
  • reducing complexity and simplifying lines of accountability

The report is particularly critical of National Challenge for effectively moving the goalposts by compelling even secondary schools that had been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted to bend to ‘perverse incentives’ for getting their results up, rather than doing what was best for children.

‘It is time,’ they conclude, ‘for the government to allow schools to refocus their efforts on what matters: children. For too long, schools have struggled to cope with changing priorities, constant waves of new initiatives from central government, and the stresses and distortions caused by performance tables and targets.’

School Accountablity, First Report of Session 2009-10 from the House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee can be downloaded from http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmchilsch.htm

July 5, 2009

Making a success of the new KS3 curriculum

Filed under: 2009, July — Tags: , — admin @ 11:52 am

The key to making the new secondary curriculum work well, says a new Ofsted report, is full involvement of staff in ‘developing a vision of and model for a coherent whole-school curriculum.’ The less successful schools left subject leaders to interpret guidelines as they saw fit, leading to a lack of coherence.

The inspectors also observe that few schools had:

  • considered how they would create better opportunities outside the classroom
  • found a way of successfully assessing students’ progress in personal learning and thinking skills

They note, however, that teachers were genuinely enthusiastic about the opportunities being provided to introduce more varied approaches to teaching and learning.

‘Planning for change: the impact of the new Key Stage 3 curriculum’ (Ref: 080262) can be downloaded from: www.ofsted.gov.uk

On not excluding infants

Filed under: 2009, July — Tags: , , — admin @ 11:51 am

Ofsted’s report on what differentiates the small number of schools that exclude children under the age of seven from those who do not, highlights the wide range of support available for children in the latter schools, and also the engagement of children in organising children’s social time.

‘In many cases,’ the inspectors found, ‘children were involved in defining the class rules or expectations based on the whole-school rules, and designing rewards and even sanctions.’

‘The exclusion from school of children aged four to seven’ (Ref. 090012) can be downloaded from: www.ofsted.gov.uk

June 5, 2009

Tackling disengagement

Filed under: 2009, June — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 11:37 am

An interim report from the Demos think-tank on its research into effective strategies for tackling educational disengagement calls on policymakers to find ways of enabling local authorities to make better decisions.

It proposes ‘Ofsted-style’ inspections of external organisations to help local authorities in selecting those which deliver effective packages of flexible, holistic strategies to develop young people’s academic, social and emotional competencies while building their aspirations.

The report recognises that such organisations are successful  because they fully engage the school, build positive relationships, use activities that young people can relate to and provide support across a range of risk factors.

The problems that need tackling, the report says, include:

1. Commissioning that is not informed by enough high quality information about what works

2. The negative impact of national accountability frameworks that emphasise ’standards’ over the Every Child Matters agenda

3. Gaps in the supply of children’s services for the full range of needs

A stitch in time: tackling educational disengagement – interim report by Sonia Sodha & Silvia Guglielmi can be downloaded from www.demos.co.uk/capabilities

April 5, 2009

DCSF sticks with targeted interventions

Filed under: 2009, April — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 11:31 am

The latest report from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) on breaking the links between deprivation and attainment uses a recent Ofsted report on secondary schools that succeed in challenging circumstances to make the case that change is possible, but says little about the need to focus on the factors that shape school cultures.

Beyond allusions to the need for leaders to display a sense of ‘moral purpose’, the emphasis is on discrete projects designed to:

·    Promote family reading

·    Recruit and retain high-quality teachers

·    Tailor learning experiences to children’s needs

·    Incentivise schools to narrow gaps through the accountability systems

‘Breaking the link between disadvantage and low attainment: Everyone’s Business’ (DCSF-00357-2009) can be downloaded from: www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications

‘Characteristics of outstanding secondary schools in challenging circumstance’ (Ref 080240) can be downloaded from: www.ofsted.gov.uk

Steer highlights importance of communal ethos in schools

Filed under: 2009, April — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 11:30 am

In his final report on behaviour in schools, Sir Alan Steer observes that a recent report by Ofsted is one among many that reach the same conclusion; young people behave well and learn well in school cultures where staff enjoy a culture of collegiate professionalism and students are actively engaged in decisions.

‘While schools are communities of individuals with individual needs,’ he says, ‘the impact of the communal ethos on pupils cannot be exaggerated. A positive ethos does not happen by chance, but is the result of hard work over a long period of time by all those connected to the school.’

The solution, he suggests, is for the DCSF and the professional associations to work together on disseminating these understandings.

‘Learning Behaviour: Lessons Learned – A review of behaviour standards and practices in our schools’ by Sir Alan Steer can be downloaded from: www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications

‘Characteristics of outstanding secondary schools in challenging circumstance’ (Ref 080240) can be downloaded from: www.ofsted.gov.uk

December 5, 2008

Schools get worse between Ofsted visits

Filed under: 2008, December — Tags: , , — admin @ 10:38 am

The first annual report of the new Ofsted contains the information that, while many schools improve or sustain excellence between one inspection and the next, ‘almost as many drop sharply in the opposite direction.’

As last year, the report highlights weaknesses in the use of assessment to:

·    track pupils’ progress

·    plan work

·    manage approaches to whole-class discussion

‘Ongoing assessment,’ it says, ‘is often under-used so that pupils do not know the strengths and weaknesses of their work and the steps needed to improve their attainment.’

The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector 2007-2008 can be downloaded from www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/annualreport0708 or purchased from www.tsoshop.co.uk

November 5, 2008

Learning outside the classroom contributes to emotional development

Filed under: 2008, November — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 10:02 am

Learning outside the classroom can contribute “significantly” to raising standards and to improving pupils’ personal, social and emotional development, according to Ofsted’s study of its impact in primary and secondary schools as well as other settings.

The impact of learning outside the classroom comes from the way it:

·    helps to make subjects more vivid and interesting for pupils

·    contributes to combating under-achievement

·    helps overcome difficult behaviour

·    fosters deeper and higher-quality learning

In one school, the report notes, “pupils who had listened passively in a lesson dominated by the teacher became animated and involved once they were given the opportunity to conduct their own research outside the classroom.”

Learning outside the classroom: how far should you go? (Ofsted 070219) can be downloaded from www.ofsted.gov.uk

Schools will not be judged on wellbeing indicators

Filed under: 2008, November — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:59 am

Ofsted and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) have issued a consultation paper on the topic of wellbeing indicators, in which they say they should not “dictate or determine judgements” but only provide “useful evidence” for Ofsted inspectors to use alongside other evidence.

The indicators are designed to help schools fulfil the ambition laid out in last year’s Children’s Plan that they promote ‘the development of the whole child and young person’, by helping them:

·    assess the wellbeing issues their pupils face

·    evaluate the school’s contribution to promoting pupil well-being

“National comparison and benchmarking,” the paper says, “are necessary if the data are to provide indicators of relative performance, which are understandable and useful to parents, schools and inspectors.”

Indicators of a School’s Contribution to Well-being (Ofsted 080195) can be downloaded from www.ofsted.gov.uk/Publications/080195. Responses to the consultation need to be submitted by 16 January 2009

September 4, 2008

Relationships vital to achievement

Filed under: 2008, September — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 9:38 am

A survey by Ofsted of schools where white British boys from low-income backgrounds perform better in public tests and examinations than their counterparts in other schools, emphasises the importance of relationships in explaining this difference.

“An important feature of the most successful schools surveyed was the close attention they paid to supporting the emotional development of the boys and helping them understand the impact of their behaviour on their learning.”

Another key factor was a strong emphasis on “establishing a clear sense of community where everyone felt ‘accepted’, and had something of value to add to the life of the school and the neighbourhood.”

White boys from low-income backgrounds: good practice in schools (Ref. 070220) can be downloaded from  www.ofsted.gov.uk

Ofsted highlights teaching to the test

Filed under: 2008, September — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:33 am

Teaching to the test is a problem that needs to be addressed, according to Ofsted’s response to the report of the Children, Schools and Families Committee on assessment.

“In some schools”, it says, “an emphasis on tests in English, mathematics and science limits the range of work in these subjects in particular year groups, as well as more broadly across the curriculum in some primary schools”.

The government insists that it was never encouraged “teaching to the test”, and denies that increases in national test results might result from this practice.

Testing and assessment: Ofsted’s response to the Committee’s third report of session 2007-8 can be downloaded from www.dfes.gov.uk

July 15, 2008

Honesty is key to improvement

Filed under: 2008, July — Tags: , , — admin @ 2:30 pm

A survey of schools that have steadily improved over a number of years, following a period of special measures, argues that their success was founded in two things.

1. The willingness of leaders to:

  • accept the judgement of the inspectors
  • make an honest analysis of what lay behind that judgement
  • demonstrate courage by giving difficult messages to staff

2. Engaging students more actively in school life so as to:

  • create a more collaborative ethos
  • improve attitudes
  • stimulate enjoyment of learning

At the point when the schools were put into special measures, students had very little opportunity to express their views about their school and how it might be improved.  The contrast between then and the time of our survey was often “dramatic”.

Sustaining improvement: the journey from special measures (070221) can be downloaded from www.ofsted.gov.uk

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