Ofsted 2019 new framework consultation

New 2019 Ofsted inspection

Inspecting the substance of  education.

Ofsted has launched the consultation about the 2019 inspection framework. 

This reflects the information widely available beforehand through HMCI commentary, social media and Ofsted briefings:

• Overall effectiveness
• The quality of education
• Behaviour and attitudes 
• Personal development
• Leadership and management

All graded on a 1 - 4 scale.  No significant changes in terms of timings of inspections and process for Section 8, Section 5 selection or criteria for special measures/serious weaknesses. The framework continues with the approach to myth busting, encouraging schools to do what they feel is right and give a clear account of why.

The main change, as expected, is around the shape, scope and content of the section on quality of education.

Key information from the draft framework focuses on intent, implementation and impact: 

Inspectors will consider the extent to which the school’s curriculum sets out the knowledge and skills that pupils will gain at each stage (intent). They will also consider the way that the curriculum selected by the school is taught and assessed in order to support pupils to build their knowledge and to apply that knowledge as skills (implementation). Finally, inspectors will consider the outcomes that pupils achieve as a result of the education they have received (impact).

Schools are encouraged to feel they can take risks or implement their own approaches rather than following a specific methodology:

Schools taking radically different approaches to the curriculum will be judged fairly. The inspectorate recognises the importance of schools’ autonomy to choose their own curriculum approaches. If leaders are able to show that they have thought carefully, that they have built a curriculum with appropriate coverage, content, structure and sequencing and are able to show that it has been implemented effectively, then inspectors will assess a school’s curriculum favourably.

Schools are encouraged not to narrow the curriculum (especially the context of doing this to achieve better test outcomes):

It is appropriate that, in key stage 1, teachers focus on ensuring that pupils are able to read, write and use mathematical knowledge, ideas and operations. From key stage 2 onwards and in secondary education, however, inspectors will expect to see a broad, rich curriculum. Inspectors will be particularly alert to signs of narrowing in the key stage 2 and 3 curriculums. If a school has shortened key stage 3, inspectors will look to see that the school has made provision to ensure that pupils still have the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects in Years 7 to 9.

For secondary schools there is a clear steer towards the EBacc:

At the heart of an effective key stage 4 curriculum is a strong academic core: the EBacc. The government’s response to its EBacc consultation, published in July 2017, confirmed that the large majority of pupils should be expected to study the EBacc. It is therefore the government’s ambition that 75% of Year 10 pupils in state-funded mainstream schools should be starting to study EBacc GCSE courses nationally by 2022 (taking their examinations in 2024), rising to 90% by 2025 (taking their examinations in 2027). It is important that inspectors understand what schools are doing to prepare for this to be achieved, and they should take those preparations into consideration when evaluating the intent of the school’s curriculum.

Inspectors will not look at a school's data and they will also consider if a school's assessment systems are causing unnecessary workload for teachers.

While they will consider the school’s use of assessment (see paras 170 to 173 above), inspectors will not consider schools’ internal assessment data during an inspection. Rather, they will want to use the official IDSR as the starting point and get to see at first hand the quality of education as experienced by pupils and understand how well leaders know what it is like to be a pupil at the school.

All changes are written around the following caveat (which will be reviewed in 2020).

 [If this is not yet fully the case, it is clear from leaders’ actions that they are in the process of bringing this about.]

School continue to have a duty to publish information about their curriculum on their website.

For further information please contact us.