A presentation by Bradley Simmons HMI Ofsted Regional Director, South West at an Association of School and College Leaders conference: Bristol 2 June 2015.

1. Ofsted in the South West
Bradley Simmons HMI
Regional Director, South West
2 June 2015
Ofsted in the South West | 1

2. Ofsted in the South West | 2

3. Schools Report
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4. Primary school improvement
 Primary schools are continuing to improve.
 82% of primary schools are now good or outstanding, which
means that 190,000 more pupils are attending good or outstanding
primary schools than last year.
 The proportion of pupils doing well in Key Stage 2 tests has also
risen by three percentage points this year.
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Why are primaries still improving?
 Leadership in primaries is improving rapidly
 Governing bodies in most primary schools work well with
headteachers and provide them with challenge as well as support.
 Teaching is focused on getting the basics right.
 Good attendance and behaviour are the norm in primary
schools.
 More of the brightest pupils are reaching their potential by the
age of 11.
 The gap between the most disadvantaged pupils those from
better off backgrounds has narrowed.

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Secondary schools are stalling – why?
 Only 71% of secondary schools are good or outstanding, a figure that is no
better than last year. Some 170,000 pupils are now in inadequate secondary
schools compared with 100,000 two years ago.
Reasons identified in our inspection evidence:
 Weak leadership – judged as RI or worse in 23% of secondary schools.
 Transition of pupils – gains made in primary schools are not capitalised on
in Key Stage 3.
 Governance and oversight – schools needs effective challenge and support
regardless of whether they are academies or maintained by the local authority.
 Ineffective middle leaders – too little impact on teaching and learning
 Behaviour and culture – not always good enough to support effective
learning. Wide variability in the way low level disruption is dealt with.

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 The most able pupils are not being sufficiently stretched with
challenging work.
 The attainment gap between the most disadvantaged and
those from better off backgrounds at GCSE has hardly changed.
 Poor careers advice is directing too many young people onto
post 16 provision for which they are not well suited.
 Weak governance and oversight are issues for many
struggling secondary schools.
Secondary schools are stalling – why?

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The key to success
 Challenge, support and intervention are critical in an
increasingly autonomous school system.
 Some local authorities and multi-academy trusts do this well, but
others are less effective.
 The best local authorities build networks among schools of all
types.
 There is, however, confusion about the role which local
authorities should play in relation to academies. Clear oversight
of schools is needed if they are to improve.

9. Priorities
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Ofsted’s priorities for 2014/15
 Ofsted will investigate why the gains made in literacy and numeracy
are sustained in Years 7 and 8 in some schools but not others.
 Ofsted will look even more closely at the performance of the most
able pupils in routine school inspections and will publish a report on
what we find.
 Ofsted will undertake a survey to identify the best examples of a
broad and balanced curriculum in England in the coming year.
 Ofsted will be conducting a further survey to examine the impact of
the pupil premium and to identify good practice in schools that
have successfully used the funding to close the gap between
disadvantaged pupils and their better-off peers.

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The South West region
 16% of primary age pupils do not attend a good school, almost one in
four secondary students attend schools that are not yet good
 The good start made by children in EYFS continues in Key Stage 1
 At Key Stage 2 no local authority is among the best for progress and
attainment
 At Key Stage 4 attainment ranks fourth of the eight regions
 FSM performance remains one of the two worst-performing regions
 LAC performance below national figures for main KS2 and KS4
attainment measures
 Over half the children and young people in the region live in local
authorities that have been judged adequate overall for safeguarding.

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Regional priorities
 To ensure that high quality inspection drives the progress and
performance of providers that are not yet ‘good’, and vigorously
challenges and supports local authorities, senior leaders, staff and
those responsible for governance
 To improve provision and outcomes for looked after children
 To raise the achievement of children eligible for free school meals
 To improve provision and achievement for the most able pupils
 To improve the provision for the most vulnerable young people aged
16-18 years to ensure it best meets their needs and enables
sustainable progression to further education, training and
employment.
Put simply, to be fit
for purpose.
To be the region
where any family can
achieve the very best.

13. Achievement of looked after children
%age achieving L2+
Key Stage 1 Number Reading Writing Mathematics
England - LAC 1750 71 61 72
South West 130 66 54 71
Key Stage 2 %age achieving RWM combined L4+
England LAC 2450 48 (up 3 points on 2013)
South West 210 43 (lower than national and only
2 points up on 2013)
Key Stage 4 %age achieving 5+ A*-C including English
and mathematics
England LAC 4800 12
South West 460 9
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14. Attainment at L4+ RWM
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15. Attainment at 5A*-C inc E & M
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16. Improving FSM attainment at KS2
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17. KS4 attainment – regional picture –
secondary schools fared better against
national decline
Change in proportion of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs, A*-C including
English and mathematics, by LA (2013 to 2014)
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18. Five+ A*-C including English and
mathematics by FSM/non FSM
Only in Bournemouth
do FSM students
achieve 5A*CEM in line
with other eligible
students nationally
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Maintaining the momentum…
 FSM achievement remains the key issue in the South West
 We have sent a clarion call to school leaders and governors and
local authorities, such that our expectations for this under-
performing group are clear
 Next area to support – the development of middle leaders
We will:
 focus on secondary schools in key local authorities in the first instance
 work with key leaders who have a direct bearing on teaching and on the pupil
groups identified in the regional plan: subject leaders, key pastoral leaders
 include LA officers, Teaching Schools, NLEs, LLEs and NLGs to build capacity
within local authority areas
 work with academies and the Regional Schools Commissioner to deliver and
widen the challenge.

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What are we doing to raise the
achievement of our brightest children?
 South West HMI taking a lead role in the national Most Able survey. There
have been visits to seven schools in the SW as part of this survey.
 The latest Most Able survey outcomes were launched at a conference in the
South West on 5 March 2015.
 South West HMI developing a Most Able evaluation toolkit for schools aligned
to that in place for FSM.
 Pupil Premium seminars challenged school leaders, governors and LA officers
on the poor achievement of the brightest disadvantaged pupils.
 On 6 February SHMI met with the Heads of School Improvement and
Assistant DCSs of all 16 local authorities to discuss the development of
improvement work for middle leaders. Next meeting is 3 July.
 SHMI and HMI will lead a series of middle leader development seminars in all
SW LAs towards the end of the Summer term. Improving the performance of
LAC, FSM and Most Able students will feature strongly.

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Key features of schools where most
able students flourished
 Leaders place a strong emphasis on creating the right ethos
in which the most able are inspired and motivated
 Key Stage 3 carefully structured to take into account
knowledge and understanding of most able
 Teachers highly aware of what students can already do
 Transition, guidance and support given very close
attention to detail
 Pupil premium was planned with clear outcomes in mind
and evaluated sharply.

25. Future of education inspection

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Principles of inspection reform
 Inspect the right things in the right way.
 Provide comparable and accurate information for parents,
carers, learners and employers to inform their choices.
 Deliver timely inspections where there are signs of decline or
improvement.
 Have a proportionate approach to inspections.
 Ensure rigorous quality of all inspections.

27. ‘Better inspection for all’ consultation
Further
education
and skills
Non-
association
independent
schools
New Common Inspection Framework (CIF)
Short inspections for
good providers
Two-year-
old offer
Baseline
exercise
Direct contracting of inspectors and changes to workforce
Maintained
schools and
academies
Early
Years
Ofsted in the South West | 27

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New Common Inspection Framework
 for schools, non-association independent schools, further
education and skills providers and registered early years
providers.
 under it – four graded judgements across all remits.
 leadership and management;
 teaching, learning and assessment;
 personal development, behaviour and welfare;
 outcomes for children and learners.
and greater emphasis on safeguarding and curriculum.
 will provide greater clarity, coherence and comparability
for users, learners, parents and employers.

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Short inspections for good providers
Frequent, shorter inspections for good schools,
academies
and further education and skills providers – approximately
every three years.
More proportionate: the right sort of inspections at the right time.
Designed to check if the quality of provision is being sustained,
and leaders have the capacity to drive improvement.
Help support rising standards with greater professional dialogue.
Regular reporting to parents, carers, learners and employers.
Identify decline early and give schools and providers opportunity to
demonstrate improvement sooner.

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Methodology for short inspections for
‘good’ schools
These short inspections do not make a full set of judgements about the
school in the way that occurs during a full section 5 inspection. The main
purposes of the short inspection are to:
highlight any significant changes in the school since the last inspection
check on whether any key areas for development identified at the last
inspection have been dealt with
check that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding are effective
evaluate whether or not the school is continuing to provide a good
quality of education for its pupils
Identify whether or not the school needs to take further action to tackle
any emerging concerns.

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Reporting – convention or constraint? Neither
A reporting letter - 800 words approx.
Layout:
 contextual info
 judgement up front and stating whether safeguarding is effective.
 highlights what is working well and articulates how leaders have
proven capacity to deal with issues
 includes areas for development
 any conversion to a section 5 inspection means that a full section
5 report is completed.
Short inspection – report letters

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Changes to the way we work
To prepare for September, we are:
making significant changes in how we source, train, contract and
manage all inspectors who deliver schools and FES inspections.
tightening up selection criteria that all inspectors have to meet
developing structures for closer working relationships between:
 contracted Ofsted Inspectors (OI)
 Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI)
 Senior HMI
to share knowledge and experience of inspections.

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Commitment to quality and consistency
From September, we will :
expect a higher standard of inspections and consistency among
inspectors when making judgements
place more emphasis on directly providing high-quality ongoing
training, mentoring and development for all inspectors
quickly and fairly address underperformance, putting in place
training where needed or terminating contracts where performance
does not improve
invest significant time to oversee quality and consistency in regions
to ensure all providers have a positive experience of inspection.

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Let’s work together to raise standards
and improve lives
 91% satisfaction rating – 30,000 inspections annually
 We share the same commitment – to improve the life chances of all children,
young people and learners.
 If you’re an education professional within schools, children’s centres or post-16
provision, why not join us on a basis that works for you and for us. Visit:
www.ofstedhmi.co.uk or see the
Working for Ofsted section on the Gov.uk website.
 The consultation response report is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/better-inspection-for-all
 This September, we’ll all have to be ready for inspection.
 Any questions about becoming an Ofsted Inspector, please email the Training
Selection team - training-selection.hub@ofsted.gov.uk