Ofsted and schools

The new Ofsted inspection regime provides that schools judged Outstanding will not be inspected again unless they are identified through a risk assessment process. And yet Ofsted itself notes that "a previous track record of success is no guarantee that schools will continue to flourish." (p45) Of the schools selected "following a risk assessment or because the nature of the school had changed" in 2010-2011, 40% lost their Outstanding status (3 declined all the way to Inadequate!). "The majority had experienced a decline in standards over time and a marked change in terms of senior leadership, staff turnover or the profile of their pupils."


Pupil behaviour was Good or Outstanding in three-quarters of secondary schools.


The current trend of high performing schools federating with weaker ones seems to be working. All of the ten such federations Ofsted inspected in 2010-2011had improved teaching and learning, achievement and behaviour in the weak schools whilst maintaining good outcomes in the strong schools.


In schools previously stuck at Satisfactory but now making good progress the SMT had engineered "a transformation in their approach to professional development and their drive for consistency, especially in teaching. These schools had created an environment where key leaders focused relentlessly on improving the consistency and quality of teaching and ensured that staff learnt continually from the influence of the best practice in and beyond the school. There was a clear understanding among staff that the senior leaders saw teaching, and its impact on learning, as the major business of the school." (p46)


"Deprivation continues to be a significant factor influencing the quality of schools. ..... A school serving the most deprived pupils in the country is four times more likely to be inadequate than a school serving the least deprived. At the other end of the spectrum 17% of the schools serving the least deprived pupils were outstanding compared with 7% of schools serving the most deprived communities." (p 47) It is possible to buck the trend. 7% of schools serving the most deprived were Outstanding. The key to progress seems to be a "sustained and committed ambition on the part of school leaders and governors, with high levels of expectation for pupils irrespective of low prior attainment and a determination to deliver good teaching for all." You also need  "very high levels of consistency in teaching and learning, and have excellent professional development in place for their staff." (p 47)


It isn't all about attainment! Ofsted combines progress measures with attainment to evaluate pupil achievement. The progress measure is often more significant:  "A judgement that pupils’ progress is good will often lead to a similar judgement about achievement, even where standards of attainment are below average or low." This achievement judgement usually "correlates with the judgement made about the overall effectiveness of the school." (p 48)


But floor standards are rising. There will be two: 

• a minimum expectation in terms of 5A*-C including English and Maths (FASCIEM) which will rise to 40% in 2011-12 and to 50% by 2015 
• an expectation that the proportion of pupils making progress in English and Maths between KS2 and KS4 is at least the national average

It is not clear whether schools will fail the floor standard if either of these expectations is not met or if both are not met. (p 51)
Last year of the schools selected for inspection (which tend to be weaker than average) 38% were performing below the 2015 floor standard.


The quality of teaching varies. Ofsted identifies  "a tendency for schools to focus strongly on positioning the best teaching at the end of each key stage" (or just before exams in secondary schools). Some may feel this is an unsurprising if possibly unintended consequence of having key stages.


References from the November 2011 Ofsted Annual report by HMCI Miriam Rosen.