Carol Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Tel. 0300 123 1231 Textphone 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Sir Michael Wilshaw Her Majestys Chief Inspector August 2015 Dear Colleague As Her Majestys Chief Inspector, my aim is simple: I want the best possible education for all pupils in England. Since I came to Ofsted, I have been determined to reform inspection so that it is higher quality, is more consistent and has ever greater impact on improving education. To this end, I have made radical changes to the way Ofsted inspects. I have established that only good is good enough through the introduction of the requires improvement grade. Inspectors do not tell teachers and practitioners how to teach. They do not have a preferred teaching method but, in dialogue with the leader or manager, assess the overall quality of teaching in the setting. Inspection reports are now much clearer and more readable for parents and carers. From September, my reforms will go even further. Over recent years, we have seen major improvements in our education system. There are more children in good or outstanding provision now than ever before and standards are rising. We have a generation of inspiring leaders and it is their leadership and the hard work of staff that have brought about this change. Make no mistake, however: there is still a long way to go. We are some way behind our top international competitors. Regional variation in performance is still wide and the underachievement of youngsters from disadvantaged homes remains substantial and unacceptable. If further improvement is to come, it is leaders and their senior teams and staff who will lead this transformation. When it comes to making a difference to the lives of children and young people across the country, you are the most influential people in England. In this letter, you will read about the next phase of significant new reforms that Ofsted will introduce in September 2015. These changes are designed to recognise and encourage great leadership. Together with your leadership, these reforms will help to ensure that children receive the education they deserve. A common inspection framework From September, I will be introducing the new common inspection framework. This builds closely on the changes made in early years inspection over the past few years. When we consulted on the new framework last year, around 80% of the early years sector, including parents who responded, supported this approach. The common inspection framework emphasises the impact of leaders work in developing and sustaining an ambitious culture and vision in their setting. Inspectors will also look at leaders work to provide a broad and balanced curriculum and they will continue to place the effectiveness of safeguarding at the heart of every inspection. When considering childrens outcomes, inspectors will want to see that the children currently at the setting are making good progress. There will be three new judgements: teaching, learning and development; outcomes for children; and personal development, behaviour and welfare. These will all sit alongside the existing leadership and management judgement. Many aspects of inspection will feel the same as before. We have kept what was working and have built on previous improvements. The way in which we inspect and the type of evidence that inspectors look for will not change significantly. We have taken great care to ensure that the judgement about the effectiveness of early years provision in schools aligns with judgements on registered early years provision so that parents can make informed choices across different types of setting. The inspection of settings registered on the Childcare Register, childminder agencies and childrens centres will not be inspected under the common inspection framework. This is because there is no universal inspection of provision registered on the Childcare Register and neither childrens centres nor childminding agencies directly provide education. Changes to the inspection workforce I am radically reforming Ofsteds inspection workforce for schools and further education and skills providers. From September 2015, the inspection of schools will no longer be outsourced. Instead, we will contract directly with new Ofsted Inspectors, with Her Majestys Inspectors leading the great majority of inspections. I understand that not making a decision to bring early years inspections in-house has created a degree of uncertainty in the sector. To align this process alongside schools and further education and skills providers would have made the project unmanageable. I continue to have discussions about early years inspections and hope to make a decision soon. In the meantime, I have made some changes to strengthen quality assurance arrangements. I am also deploying Her Majestys Inspectors to provide training for all inspectors, including for the inspection service providers, in order to ensure that my expectations about quality of inspection practice are clear. This includes the current training programme for all inspectors on the new common inspection framework. Notification of inspection Following pilot inspections in the spring, I have decided to provide notification of inspection to early years providers. This is something the early years sector has regularly asked me to change. Most settings on non-domestic premises will receive half a days notice of their inspection. Settings that have been judged inadequate or those that we inspect as a priority arising from a concern will not receive notification of inspection. The arrangements for inspection of childminders will not change under the common inspection framework. Exceptional leaders Throughout England today, there are exceptional leaders who are not only improving the prospects of children in their own settings but who are also transforming the life chances of youngsters in underperforming settings elsewhere, particularly in the most challenging areas. I am determined that Ofsted will recognise these system leaders. From September, when inspectors identify a leader who has played a key role in turning around other institutions, I will send a letter to that leader to acknowledge their exceptional leadership. A copy of this letter will go to the Secretary of State and I will use my Annual Report to feature those leaders who have been recognised in this way. To be recognised as an exceptional leader, a number of criteria will have to be met. The details of the criteria for early years will be discussed and agreed with the sector. Complaints about Ofsted Finally, Ofsted should be transparent in the way it handles complaints made about inspection. We have always handled such complaints fairly and openly, but this September I will go further. Each of Ofsteds regions will set up a high-level scrutiny committee made up of Senior HMI and sector leaders who are not involved in carrying out inspections for Ofsted. These scrutiny panels will assess and rule on the internal reviews of complaints about inspection. Their decisions will be binding on Ofsted. The membership of these committees will be resolved in the next couple of months so that they can start their work in September. We will publish the names of the committee members on our website in due course. The impact of these reforms I hope that these reforms will encourage settings to focus on what is best for their children, rather than concentrating on what they think is required for inspection. Ofsteds mission remains unchanged. Our inspections will remain as rigorous as ever. As Chief Inspector, I will continue to shine a spotlight on underperformance, even when this is uncomfortable for those involved. I encourage you to share this letter with your staff and parents. All our inspection materials, further information and some short videos explaining the changes from September 2015 are available on the Ofsted website. Thank you for all the hard work you and your staff are doing to raise standards and improve childrens lives. I know you are as committed as I am to improving early education for all. Yours sincerely Sir Michael Wilshaw Her Majesty's Chief Inspector Please do not reply to this email. If you have any queries, please email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. To keep up with the latest developments at Ofsted, you can: Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn This email was sent to Ruardeanacorns@aol.com why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Ofsted · Aviation House · 125 Kingsway · London, WC2B 6SE · United Kingdom Quote
narnia Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 I got it too...........................sent to my personal email address, rather than the setting.............. Quote
Fredbear Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 Yes I have received it to the pre-school email address too. Quote
tish501 Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 Me too to my personal email...printed ready for tomorrow...x Quote
blondie Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 not me - what does this all actually mean other than we get some notice ? i think my brain is all washed up doing my to do list 1 Quote
Mouseketeer Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 nor me lol. I guess the 'most' just refers to the ones not being given notice due to either being inadequate or because of a complaint triggering an inspection. Quote
Rafa Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 not me - what does this all actually mean other than we get some notice ? i think my brain is all washed up doing my to do list Ahh...it also means that 'Exceptional Leaders' - who go above and beyond etc etc - get mentioned in despatches!! Whoopy-Doo!! Quote
LKeyteach Posted August 14, 2015 Posted August 14, 2015 Made me laugh the bit about dispatches. At my daughters' school, they have head teacher's commendations. Each week some girls get nominated for outstanding work or deeds. I feel this mention in the annual return is similar. Really sorry to moan but I wonder how much money was spent on getting this letter out and the changes made? Most of us are not motivated by money or fame. Does the lovely sir Michael really think sending a letter to the Secretary of State is really going to inspire us to become "inspirational Leaders" I wish the money wasted on this publicity was spent on in creasing funding or buying each setting some invaluable resource such as paper, paint, blocks or painkillers for my headache!!!! Aargh!! 10 Quote
Rafa Posted August 14, 2015 Posted August 14, 2015 Yes, I found the whole bit about Exceptional Leaders rather patronising! Felt rather like he was talking to a bunch of Girl Guides! Not only that, notice we can't just 'think' we're exceptional - we have to meet a 'number of criteria - of which has yet to be discussed " You Don't Say! Sir Michael, our whole LIFE is about meeting 'certain criteria' so no surprises there then!! 6 Quote
Carol Posted August 15, 2015 Author Posted August 15, 2015 The exceptional leadership made me laugh, I can see that it could be beneficial to some settings, however on the other hand as a manager I feel it's my job to be as exceptional as I possibly can. In our Ofsted report in July, I was described as an 'inspirational leader' - perhaps that's a step down from an exceptional leader 2 Quote
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