Newsbites – Mostly Ofsted

This newsbites is mostly Ofsted related with links to videos from Ofsted subject leads, segregation in independent faith schools & predicting ratings.

Ofsted’s specialists: videos

Ofsted have published a series of videos on their YouTube channel, these videos are part of a series from Ofsted’s national leads, focusing on their specialisms and key issues in these areas including subjects as diverse as:

• Online safety,
• Questions governors might be asked,
• Modern languages in secondary schools,
• Final feedback for governors,
• SEND inspections,
• Early years literacy,
• Social care inspections – misconceptions,
• Assessing EAL pupils,
• Behaviour & attendance, and
• Unannounced behaviour inspections.

Presentation: inspecting schools and improving education

Lorna Fitzjohn, Ofsted’s Regional Director, West Midlands gave the keynote address at ‘Be inspection-ready, not preparing for inspection’ at a conference by SSAT (the schools, students and teachers network) this month.

Ofsted correspondence: Sir Michael Wilshaw letter about segregation in independent faith schools

Ofsted’s Chief Inspector wrote to the Secretary of State for Education to raise concerns about segregation in independent faith schools.

Schools Week: Which Ofsted ratings you can predict (and which are given on a whim)

Schools Week is reporting that the two most extreme Ofsted grades of “inadequate” and “outstanding” are being dished out on the whims of inspectors, suggests analysis by data experts.