Webinar 2 Inspections and the COVID-19 pandemic.pptx

Inspections and the COVID-19
pandemic

Purpose of this slidepack
 This slidepack comes from the second in a series of webinars
we’re holding for schools in 2022. For details of others, see:
https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2022/03/21/three-
free-ofsted-webinars-for-school-leaders-and-staff-register-to-
join/
 We want you to take information about Ofsted directly from
us rather than relying on third-party and often expensive
sources.
 This slidepack is about inspections and the COVID-19
pandemic.
EIF inspections in primary schools Slide 2

Chris Russell HMI
National Director,
education
Gill Jones HMI
Deputy Director,
Schools and Early
Education
Claire Jones HMI
Specialist Advisor
Welcome
Shazia Akram HMI
Schools HMI, South
East

Key resources
www.gov.uk/ofsted
www.youtube.com/ofstednews
www.slideshare.net/ofstednews
 Blogs and press releases
 Contact us

Where you can find our information
 The only guidance and materials you need for an inspection
is the guidance and materials that Ofsted produce. We
publish a variety of content to support you.
 https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted
 our inspection handbooks which outline our policies and processes
on school inspections
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-
inspection-framework).
 other guidance documents intended for schools and our own
inspectors

Where you can find our information 2
 Other resources to support school leaders and teachers:
 Ofsted’s YouTube channel
(https://www.youtube.com/user/Ofstednews)
 SlideShare (https://www.slideshare.net/Ofstednews)
 Education inspection blog for schools and further education and
skills (https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/)

Thank you for everything
you have been, and are, doing.

Inspection timings
A broad outline of when different schools can expect
their next inspection

Inspection timings
 Last year, we were given some extra funding to catch up on
inspections delayed by the pandemic, and to help reassure
parents that children’s learning is getting back on track.
 It’s important to say that the changes have not affected any
inspections this academic year - these were already planned.
These timings are also unaffected by any non-routine inspections
or visits during the suspension of routine inspections.
 This is about getting inspection timescales back on track after the
COVID disruption. It’s not about inspecting individual schools
more often than before COVID hit.
Inspections and the COVID-19 pandemic

Inspection timings (cont.)
 Before the pandemic, most good schools were usually
inspected once every 4 years.
 Because of lockdowns and restrictions, routine inspections
were put on hold for 18 months and we said it would take us
until summer 2026 to get round all schools (including
previously exempt outstanding schools) once we restarted.
 This meant that a typical good-rated school was likely to be
inspected 5 or 6 terms later than it would have been.

Inspection timings (cont.)
 The new funding means that we can bring this forward slightly.
Including this year’s inspections, we’re now aiming to get to
every school once by the summer of 2025. This isn’t a radical
change, but it will provide more timely assurance that they are on
the right track.
 We’ll start gradually increasing the number of inspections we
carry out from next September.
 This means that a typical good-rated school inspected just before
the pandemic is likely to be inspected 1 year later than it might
normally expect, rather than 2.
 As has always been the case, inspection timing is based on the
judgement given at the last inspection.

Outstanding schools
 Schools previously graded outstanding are no longer exempt from
routine inspection.
 All formerly exempt schools will receive an initial inspection under section 5
or section 8 (s5 or s8) before 1 August 2025. Schools that last received a
section 5 inspection:
 before September 2015 will generally receive an initial s5 inspection.
 after September 2015 will generally receive an initial s8 inspection.
 Some outstanding schools that would usually be subject to a section 8
inspection may be subject to a full section 5 inspection instead due to our
risk assessment process.

Good schools
 Most good schools usually receive a section 8 inspection approximately
every 4 years.
 For the first inspection after the pandemic, this was increased by 5 or 6
terms.
 However, from next year we will gradually reduce this time slightly. A
typical good-rated school inspected just before the pandemic is likely to
be inspected 1 year later than it might normally expect.
 Some good schools will be subject to a full section 5 inspection instead
of a section 8 inspection.

Requires improvement and inadequate schools
 Before the pandemic, requires improvement and inadequate schools
could expect an inspection approximately 30 months after their last
inspection.
 For their first inspection since inspections were paused in 2020, this
will be extended by 5 to 6 terms (so will be around 4 years from their
last inspection).
 They will continue to receive monitoring inspections. The timing of
these will depend on a number of factors.

New schools
 For new schools that are yet to receive an inspection judgement, the
timing of their inspection will depend on when they opened:
 We are likely to inspect new schools that opened before September
2020 in their fourth or fifth year of operation.
 We are likely to inspect new schools that opened after September
2020 in their third year of operation.

Inspection deferrals
 If providers have concerns about the timing of their inspection, they
can and should request a deferral.
 We will judge every deferral request on its own merits and in line with
our deferral policy.
 A request for a deferral, even if it is refused, will never have an impact
on how we view a school on inspection.
 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deferring-ofsted-inspections

How do inspectors consider the
impact of COVID-19?

 We have adjusted the way we inspect to reflect the changing
circumstances as we continue to emerge from the pandemic
and we have updated our training package for inspectors to
make sure that they are able to separate out the impact of
COVID-19.
 This section of the webinar will outline our approach to
inspections as we emerge from the pandemic and hopefully
reassure you that our inspectors are taking this into account.

How inspectors take into account the
impact of COVID-19
We will always ask leaders about the impact of
COVID-19, to understand the context for the
school.
Inspectors will try to understand whether
COVID-19 is a contributing factor to the
school not being where it wants to be.
We will only report on this when we think it will
help parents understand how a school is doing.

The detail
 Before our inspectors are even on site, they will be considering the
impact of COVID -19 on the school.
 After the school is notified the lead inspector has a preparatory call
with the headteacher:
 During this conversation the lead inspector will seek to understand
the specific impact of COVID-19 on the school community and how
the school’s leaders responded to the situation, including any
specific plans for the transitional period.
 As part of this conversation they will also explore how the school
implemented the curriculum and what, if any, elements of remote
education remain in place at the time of inspection.

The detail (cont.)
During the inspection inspectors will continue to consider
the effect of the pandemic when conducting their
inspection activities.
For example, as part of funding discussions, we will ask
schools how they have used any catch-up funding and
their approach to tutoring. We don’t have any view on
what this should be; we simply want to ask and
understand.

The detail (cont.)
 We will seek to understand whether COVID-19 is a contributing
factor to the school not being where it wants to be.
 For example, we inspected a school that was implementing a new
phonics programme but the training had been delayed a number
of times due to the pandemic. As a result of this teachers weren’t
implementing the programme with fidelity, so it wasn’t having the
impact it needed to, to ensure children could learn to read quickly
and fluently.
 As the reason for this was purely down to COVID and not the
schools actions, this did not affect the grade given.

The detail (cont.)
 We will only report on the impact of COVID-19 when we
think it will help parents to understand how a school is
doing.

Attendance
 Schools continue to face challenges in tackling
absence that is indirectly related to the pandemic.
 Inspectors need to understand how the pandemic
specifically affected the individual school.
 When looking at attendance, inspectors will
consider:
 the specific context of the school
 the steps that school leaders have taken to
ensure the best possible rates of attendance
since the pandemic began.

‘Securing good attendance and tackling
persistent absence’ - report
 One of the key areas we will consider the impact of the
pandemic is on school attendance.
 In February 2022 we released a short report entitled
‘securing good attendance and tackling persistent absence’
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/securing-
good-attendance-and-tackling-persistent-absence).
 The report looks at different aspects of attendance and how
schools tackle the challenges they face.

Good practice
 Successful approaches to attendance tend to have a number of
features in common which can be best summarised as ‘Listen,
understand, empathise and support-but do not tolerate’.
 Leaders are using the same strategies that they usually do,
showing the same persistence and conveying the same high
expectations.
 At the same time, they are asking themselves their usual
questions about what, if anything, they need to do differently to
remove barriers to pupils’ attendance, and are systematically
acting to do just that.

The curriculum and catch-up

Curriculum and recovery
 We recognise that most schools will have been unable to implement
their curriculum in the usual way during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Curriculum and recovery (cont.)
 On inspection, inspectors will:
 seek to understand how the school has adapted and prioritised the
curriculum from September 2020 onwards; such as how leaders
and teachers have identified any gaps in pupils’ knowledge that
were caused by disruptions to teaching during the pandemic.
 talk with leaders and teachers about how they have adapted their
curriculum planning and teaching in response to any identified
gaps, as well as evaluating the impact that these adaptations have
had on helping pupils to catch up.
 look at how school leaders are continuing to adapt the curriculum
and prioritise particular content during periods of staff absence.

 One of the things we have heard is that some school leaders
are anxious that Ofsted might look negatively on them
prioritising certain subjects to help pupils catch up.
 We have also heard that some leaders think that we will
penalise schools for providing individual pupils or groups of
pupils with intervention that takes them out of other lessons
to help address specific gaps in their knowledge, for example
in reading.
 This is not the case.

 On inspection, inspectors will want to understand the
rationale for the curriculum decisions that leaders are
making, along with the impact that these decisions are
having on pupils' learning.
 We understand that in some contexts, prioritising particular
curriculum content will be crucial to helping pupils move
forward in their learning.

 Reading is a good example of where this might be the case.
 Where pupils of any age have fallen behind and are not able
to read age-appropriate texts fluently and accurately, it is
crucial that they are helped to catch up as quickly as
possible.
 This is because pupils need to be able to read so that they
can access learning and progress well in other subjects.
 Therefore, prioritising reading over some other curriculum
content might well be appropriate for these pupils.

Inspectors will look at how teachers have
identified pupils learning gaps and new
starting points and how they have responded
to this in their curriculum planning.

 To be able to adapt the curriculum and prioritise particular
subjects or curriculum content effectively, teachers need to:
 know what pupils remember and understand from the
curriculum that was taught during the pandemic and
 know whether pupils have any specific gaps in their
knowledge as a result of disruption teaching during this
time.

 Our latest educational recovery research
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-
recovery-in-schools-spring-2022) found that in schools that
are using assessment effectively, teachers have an accurate
understanding of what individual pupils know and can do.
 This means that they are able to adapt curriculum content to
address gaps in pupils’ knowledge, allowing for a return to a
more usual curriculum.

 We do not advocate any particular method of assessment or
expect schools to carry out assessment in a specific way.
 When we look at a school’s use of assessment, we consider how
well it enables teachers to check what aspects of the school’s
curriculum pupils have learned, and how this information is used
to inform what is taught next.
 Inspectors will consider whether assessment is used in a
purposeful and meaningful way.
 They will also check that assessment is not placing any
unnecessary burden on pupils and importantly, on the workload
of staff.

Evaluating impact
 During inspections, inspectors look at how well a school’s
curriculum content and how it is taught ensures that all
pupils develop detailed knowledge and skills across a broad
range of subjects. We do this through a range of evidence,
not just the results of tests and examinations.

Evaluating impact (cont.)
 On inspection, we focus on what pupils know and remember
from the curriculum they have been taught.
 We look at:
 leaders’ curriculum intentions
 how well these are being implemented and the impact
this is having on pupils’ learning.
 So, is the school’s curriculum content suitably ambitious and
are pupils learning what the school’s curriculum says they
will?

 Inspectors will consider available external data, in context.
 However, they will be mindful of the age of this data, especially
around statutory assessment and qualifications, when making
judgements.
 Inspectors will not expect or accept internal data on progress and
attainment from schools either instead of or in addition to published
data.
 Inspectors will draw on the evidence they collect and connect from
deep dives.
Evaluating impact (cont.)

Personal development

Personal development (cont.)
 There has been widespread acknowledgement that the COVID-19
pandemic has impacted not only on the academic achievement of
children and young people, but on their personal development as well.
 Pupils and staff have reported repeatedly that the experience of living
through successive lockdowns affected the mental well-being of pupils.
 Many became anxious about their own future, that of the community
around them, and even that of the world.
 Some saw siblings and members of their own families suffering in
different ways.
 Many became anxious and less resilient. For some, their own self-
esteem was affected negatively.

 Life under lock-downs and time spent isolating meant that
children, and particularly the youngest, had far less
opportunities to socialise than they would otherwise have
received.
 This has impacted on their communication, their ability to
take turns and share, to cooperate, and to learn important
things about others different from themselves.

 In addition, the pandemic curtailed many of the wider
opportunities schools were able to provide for their pupils.
 There were, in almost all instances, many fewer options for
schools to be able to provide lunchtime and after-school sporting
and clubs for pupils, extra-curricular visits and trips, whole-school
assemblies, including the ability to perform at concerts, nativities
and end-of-year productions.
 Pupils were less able, or unable, to take on positions of
responsibility in school, attending school councils, Eco clubs and
the like.
 They were constrained in being able to undertake voluntary work
in the community.

 Lastly, pupils spent more time online. This meant that they
were at increased risk of exploitation and harm, or seeing
content that was unsuitable for them.
 For many, this browsing was insufficiently monitored. Pupils
will have been exposed to worrying messages and
misleading content about relationships.
 And this compounded by schools’ difficulties in teaching the
RSHE curriculum remotely during the pandemic, when
important knowledge may have been delivered less well at a
time pupils needed it most.

Personal development
The pandemic is likely to have impacted on pupils beyond their academic
and vocational achievement:
 fewer occasions for pre-school children and those in the
early years to learn to socialise with others
 negative aspects of mental well-being, including self-
esteem and resilience
 reduced opportunities for pupils to take part in wider
opportunities
 children spending more time online, with potential for
increased exposure to risk.

 Inspectors are mindful of the difficulties placed on schools
and their staff during the pandemic.
 Therefore they are likely to begin by asking leaders to talk
about how precisely pupils in THEIR school were impacted
by it.
 They’ll then seek to understand if they’ve prioritised
anything as a result, and that leaders have a clear rationale
for doing this. They may well also be able to tell us about
any relevant pastoral support they have provided for pupils,
for example.

 Many schools didn’t manage, as a result of the pandemic, to
teach the full range of the RSHE guidance.
 If they didn’t, that’s fine – but are they on track now to
make sure that they can do this by July?
 Inspectors may ask them to show them where an aspect of
it is planned to be taught, to reassure themselves that this is
so.
 They’re likely to also check that staff have been supported
sufficiently well to teach it effectively, with appropriate
training and resources where needed.

 Quite obviously, during lockdowns, it was inevitably very difficult to provide those
wider opportunities for pupils. But inspectors will ask:
 Have things begun to change now?
 What did the school start to provide first?
 What is it providing now, compared with what it provided before the pandemic?
 And do leaders plan to make any further improvements?
 Is there high take-up for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged,
and/or have special educational needs and/or disabilities, in these opportunities?
 To be clear - inspectors focus on understanding the steps that leaders have taken to
offer a wide range of personal development opportunities since the school opened to
all pupils in March 2021.

 Inspectors will follow up this discussion with leaders with some activity.
 This will include talking to pupils about their experiences:
 Do they feel that they are being well supported well to learn about
relationships?
 Are they being given sufficient age-appropriate awareness and
understanding about to stay safe, including online?
 Inspectors will use all the information they hear and see to make one,
rounded overall judgement about the quality of personal development
the school provides.

Personal development - summary
Inspectors are likely to:
 ask leaders to explain to them how the pupils in their school have been affected by
the pandemic in ways beyond the academic
 enquire how have they adapted their personal development programme to take
account of this and meet pupils’ needs
 check they are planning to teach the entire relevant content from the RSHE guidance
by the end of July
 find out what wider opportunities they have offered to pupils since schools opened to
all pupils in March 2021
 ask pupils for their experiences of the personal development they receive, and what
they gain from it.

Ofsted on the web and on social
media
www.gov.uk/ofsted
https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk
www.linkedin.com/company/ofsted
www.youtube.com/ofstednews
www.slideshare.net/ofstednews
www.twitter.com/ofstednews

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