Ofsted - What do they want? When do they want it?

There's an old joke,

"What's the difference between a plastic surgeon and an Ofsted inspection? The surgeon tucks up features and the Ofsted inspection...."

A couple of weeks ago my school had a visit from Ofsted.

They told us on Friday that they would be coming in on the following Tuesday.

Everybody was rushing around like crazy and the queue for the photocopier (there are 2 but one broke as if by Ofsted magic) was longer than ever, well since the last inspection anyway.

We were told that each teacher would be seen twice. This didn't happen. Some people were seen twice. Others, including me, were not seen at all.

So what did they want?

The inspectors requested a chair in each classroom with a lesson plan and a detailed seating plan. By detailed, of course, I mean including any special needs information details, children receiving free school meals, the number of looked after children, any gifted and talented children and any children with English as an additional language. Each of these groups of students needs to be taught in different ways, of course.

What did they want to see?


They wanted to see that we are as good as we claim we are in our SEF.

They wanted to see teaching and learning. Obviously. Teacher-led learning is not a good thing. More specifically, they wanted to see evidence of students learning independently and evidence of teachers facilitating this learning by recapping every few minutes. Progress.

The formula for this is: Bell activity, Starter, Task, Mini-plenary, Task, Mini-plenary, Task, Mini-plenary, Task, Mini-plenary,Task, Mini-plenary, ad nauseum, Final activity, Plenary.

Lots of mini-plenaries to show progress as most inspectors spent fewer than 10 minutes in each classroom. If they don't see progress in the time they are there, the best you can hope for is "Satisfactory", which we all know isn't good enough.

If you work in a school where students are not used to working independently, now is a good time to start.

What did they do?

As well as observing and judging lessons they spoke to students: "Do you normally do this kind of thing? Do you like this class? Do you know what you need to do to improve? Can you tell me what you need to do to reach your targets? etc."

They sent out questionnaires to staff, pupils, parents and other stakeholders.

 They did a work scrutiny. Some of my books were included in this. They were looking for evidence of effective feedback (I've blogged about effective feedback here). Not marking. Feedback. All kinds. If your Schemes of Work include this, even better. Teacher feedback, self assessment, peer assessment. Comments of ways in which students can improve. If you are a "page ticker" then you need to change your ways.

They were very friendly and courteous. They seemed like nice people. But, remember, nothing you tell an inspector is "off the record", so be very careful before opening your mouth. Don't try to be funny. Like SLT, they don't like it, their sense of humour (if they ever had one) has been removed. One of the conditions of the job, apparently.

What can you do to be ready for them?

Ideally, teach as if every day is an inspection.

Realistically, keep on top of paperwork, marking and feedback, annotate your seating plans, make sure you know the needs of your students, allow opportunities for peer and self assessment, if you are a "teach-from-the-front-teacher" slowly start to change your ways. The teachers who were prepared, the ones not running around like headless chickens,  were the ones who came out best.

Remember why you became a teacher in the first place - to help children learn.