OFSTED annual report 2023/4

Every year, the Chief Inspector of Ofsted produces a report which includes a summary of inspection findings from the last 12 months. This year’s report was published after I had finished my book (to be published), which contains a chapter on ‘how to survive Ofsted’ so I thought it would be useful to write a blog post as an addition to that chapter. From the perspective of a head teacher, the findings from the report can be used as a barometer for the focus areas any potential inspection of their school might have in the coming months. I have looked at the report and formulated some key questions that should be considered by any head teacher.

Early Years We knew already that curriculum content and the use of assessment was something that Ofsted were focusing on, and the report makes explicit reference to that continuing. The report refers to schools highlighting ongoing concerns about early years language, communication and social skills, and it acknowledges the impact of the pandemic on these. It also refers to the pressures caused by the cracks in the SEND system having an impact on all children, including the youngest ones. The report acknowledges the challenges in recruitment and retention of Early Years staff, and hints at ways in which this might be overcome in future years, although no easy fix is presented.

Key Questions

• How well planned is your Early Years curriculum?
• What are you doing to support the children coming into Early Years with low levels in communication etc?
• How are you using SEND support for the youngest children?

Attendance The report goes into significant detail about the increase in the national absence rate since the pandemic. Quite rightly, it focuses on the number of children who are severely and persistently absent, and it notes within this that the most disadvantaged children have higher rates of absence than children who are not disadvantaged. The report highlights the increased number of children on part time timetables (flexi schooling), which has been used by schools to get children back into school as a short term measure, but they are clearly unhappy that it is for some a more long term arrangement and want all children to be accessing ‘orthodox patterns of education’. It acknowledges shifts in parental attitudes since the pandemic and the subtext is definitely that schools need to tackle these where they occur. I feel that, whilst we cannot disagree with the attendance comments in the report there are no real answers there for schools and no acknowledgement of how difficult / impossible it is for schools to have an impact on changes in society. I have written in a previous post about the obsession with improving attendance, and how this needs to be done in a human and nuanced way and not by simply cracking down on absences and issuing fines, so I will not repeat my opinions here.

Key Question

• What are you doing to increase the attendance of the children who are currently your lowest attainers?

Inclusion The report acknowledges that the number of children with SEND continues to increase, and it acknowledges what it calls the ‘limitations’ of the SEND system. Encouragingly, there is an acknowledgement that “the system is not there yet” and that there is a “fundamental mismatch between the scale of demand and the level of resource.” The report stresses the need for early interventions and highlights what it seems to suggest as the overuse of EHC plans. It describes inconsistencies and weaknesses in local area SEND arrangements and a lack of joined up working. It describes the use of AP to fill the gaps in SEND provision as being unsatisfactory, which we all agree.

Key Questions

• How are you using early interventions to support the progress of children with SEND?
• How effectively are you working within your local area?