Ofsted plans to increase the proportion of fully graded school inspections it carries out over the next five years to allow for more “professional dialogue and evidence gathering”.
The plan for more Section 5 inspections in schools has been announced by the inspectorate today, alongside the publication of its new five-year strategy document.
However, the watchdog has not said whether, or how, the criteria for when these inspections will be held will change.
The inspectorate’s plan for 2022 to 2027 also includes a commitment to hold “multi-academy trusts to account through inspection”, to develop a new special educational needs and disability (SEND) inspection framework, and to carry out more research into early years to help improve practice.
Ofsted’s strategy, published today, sets out the organisation’s goals until 2027. Here are the main points:
All schools to be visited by 2025 - and more full inspections
The report says Ofsted plans to “allow more time for professional dialogue and evidence gathering by increasing the proportion of longer inspections in education”.
The watchdog told Tes this means increasing the proportion of Section 5 inspections it carries out, which are full checks in which a school’s Ofsted rating can change.
For “good” - and some “outstanding” - schools, Ofsted currently only carries out Section 8 inspections, which do not result in a change of grade.
The inspectorate has returned to routine inspection of “outstanding” schools after an exemption was lifted last year.
If the “outstanding” school had its last Section 5 inspection before September 2015, then it will receive a new Section 5.
However, if its last full inspection was after this date, it will receive a Section 8 inspection.
In most cases, both Section 5 and Section 8 inspections in schools are now two days long.
However, Section 8 inspections of primary and maintained nursery schools with fewer than 150 pupils only last one day.
The new Ofsted strategy also includes the previously announced plan to accelerate inspections to ensure all schools are visited by 2025.
Ofsted aims to hold MATs to account through inspection
Ofsted has said it will work with the Department for Education on its review into the regulation of multi-academy trusts (MATs), including how trusts will be held to account in the future through inspection.
This follows the government announcing a review in its recent Schools White Paper.
The inspectorate has repeatedly called to be given powers to inspect MATs but cannot currently do so.
Instead, it publishes summary evaluations of MATs’ work based on findings drawn from a series of inspections of schools run by the same trust.
The new strategy says that MATs will be held to account through inspection - but it does not say whether that will be through graded inspections of individual trusts.
The strategy also includes plans to carry out more MAT summary evaluations “to build knowledge of an increasingly diverse MAT sector”.
Ofsted research ‘will improve early years practice’
Ofsted has previously said that early years is where it can have the “most impact”.
Its five-year plan says it will develop “a rigorous evidence base” to support children’s physical, social and wider development in early years.
It has also said it will increase training for its workforce in this area and will raise its voice “in support of positive change”.
The watchdog’s strategy document says that, while many children do well in early years, over a quarter are still not reaching a good level of development by the age of 5.
Its strategy says that, as a result of Ofsted’s actions, “early years practice will improve because practitioners use our research, evidenced by feedback from focus groups with the sector.”
It also says that “the percentage of early years leaders who agree that communication from Ofsted has improved their practice will increase.”
New SEND inspection framework being developed
The five-year strategy says that Ofsted will develop and implement a new area SEND inspection framework that holds the right agencies to account for their role in the system and responds to the government’s SEND review.
It said this will include an enhanced focus on local strategic oversight and commissioning of alternative provision.
The government’s Green Paper on SEND said that it will support Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to create a new framework.
Tes revealed last week that there are concerns that a new SEND area inspection is not ready when the current one is just coming to an end.
Ofsted said last week that the new framework would be implemented in 2023, but could not give an exact start date.
Ofsted and the CQC were first asked to start developing plans for a new SEND inspection regime in 2018.
More than half of the SEND area inspections of local authority areas that have been carried out by Ofsted and the CQC found weaknesses, which have required local leaders to develop a written statement of action setting out a plan for improvement.
More training for Ofsted inspectors and a new workforce strategy
Ofsted has said it will develop specialist knowledge in growing areas of its work, including teacher development and MATs.
The inspectorate’s five-year plan highlights how Ofsted will inspect all parts of teacher education - from initial teacher education to early career teacher development and professional qualifications.
It will also develop a new workforce strategy “to reflect the changed landscape across all sectors, recruiting and retaining highly professional, credible people, many with specialist knowledge”.
The report also says Ofsted recognises the value of a diverse workforce and “will aim to attract and retain people from different backgrounds and with a variety of skills and experiences”.
Ofsted to share more research insights on long-term impact of Covid
The strategy says Ofsted will use its insights to inform decision-makers and practitioners on the long-term impact of Covid on children and learners.
The watchdog also says it will “fill gaps in knowledge by carrying out rigorous research and analysis in the areas that we are well placed to generate new insights in”, such as MATs and sufficiency in alternative provision.
It plans to build understanding of the quality of subject teaching by creating “state of the nation” subject reports based on evidence from inspections and wider literature.
Amanda Spielman, Ofsted chief inspector, whose term will conclude in 2023, said: “Our strategy for the next five years takes account of the impact of the pandemic and raises still further our ambitions for children and learners. Ofsted’s mantra of ‘raising standards, improving lives’ has never been more important.
“If the past two years have taught us anything, then, perhaps it is how resilient people can be, not least the youngest in our society whose start in life has been challenged in a way we’ve never seen before.
“We recognise the outstanding work early years providers have done to help children recover what they missed, and this strategy aims to increase our support for a workforce that is so deeply devoted to what it does.
“Whether it is through developing specialist training for our inspection workforce or through sharing our own insights, we will do everything in our power to help every child gain the best start in life.”
You need a Tes subscription to read this article
Subscribe now to read this article and get other subscriber-only content:
