The do's and don'ts of Ofsted inspections

Various myths surround Ofsted inspections and what the inspectors want to see.  As a result, Ofsted has recently provided some clarification due to the concern that these myths are resulting in unnecessary workloads in schools.

For example:

• Inspectors are interested in the effectiveness of lesson plans, rather than the form that lesson plans take.
• Ofsted does not require teachers to undertake additional work or to ask anyone to undertake work specifically for the inspection. Ofsted will usually expect to see evidence of the monitoring of teaching and learning and its link to teachers’ performance management and the Teachers’ Standards, but this should be the information that the school uses routinely and not additional evidence generated purely for an inspection.
• They do not require schools to provide evidence from each teacher for each of the bulleted sub-headings in the Teachers’ Standards.

Whilst Ofsted appears to be trying to reduce unnecessary workloads, in practice, schools may still feel that this guidance does not actually reduce their workload because they still need to carry out lesson planning, to monitor teaching and learning and to consider the Teachers’ Standards. 

The point, however, is that it is up to schools to determine their practices and for leadership teams to justify these on their own merits, ensuring that what schools do are of use, rather than schools carrying out work purely for the purpose of the next Ofsted inspection.