The return of Ofsted inspections
Omicron may have brought Ofsted inspections to a pause in December, but most of the autumn term was a busy period for the non-ministerial department, with a return to a full schedule of inspections and the targeted inspection of schools formerly exempt.
Omicron may have brought Ofsted inspections to a pause in December, but most of the autumn term was a busy period for the non-ministerial department, with a return to a full schedule of inspections and the targeted inspection of schools formerly exempt. Outstanding schools will have been feeling the heat. Amanda Spielman has spoken of halving the number of schools with this grade and statistics from last term mirror this figure.
We are being approached by an increasing number of schools seeking to challenge their recent inspection. Where schools have come to us following a particularly drastic grade change, a judgement of ineffective safeguarding has been a noticeable theme. We have also heard repeatedly from our school and academy clients that there is a lack of genuine consideration by Ofsted of the impact of the pandemic. Despite the additional text within the School Inspection Handbook and the standard lines added to reports, many schools’ experience is that the actual practical repercussions of operating a school in such times are not being fairly acknowledged and reflected as part of the inspection process.
If you have an Ofsted inspection looming or are not happy with the outcome of a report, please contact us for advice.
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