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Accountability 2017: How to stay afloat in troubled waters

Stephen RollettInspections & Accountability Specialist

@steverollett

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Hot off the press!

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Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth

Who painted this?

When?

Quick discussion: ACTIVITY

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Accountability 2017

Big picture – Ofsted & RSC's

All hands on deck!(Some practical ideas)

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Big Picture – what/who is on the horizon?

Ofsted RSC Local Authority

Local community

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Spot the differenceOfsted:Do: Inspect & judge the effectiveness of schoolsDon't: Change the status of schools

Carry out 'focused reviews' or 'batched' inspections. See the MAT through the lens of its schools. Don't have powers to inspect central workings of MATs.

Results in a public letter with analysis of strengths and weaknesses, as well as recommendations. No grade. No powers to make DfE act on their report.

RSC'sDecide on:• schools becoming academies• forming/joining MATs• re-brokering

Commission intervention from teaching schools & national leaders of education (NLE)- Inadequate schools and coasting

schools (regardless of Ofsted rating)

Provide support for MATs & CEOs . E.g. Training

RSC Role "is to champion academies" -SMW

Regions don't align – but possibly should

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Who am I accountable to? Ofsted or RSC?• Both, depending on your school.• An Outstanding maintained school might have little contact with an RSC.• An Inadequate or coasting maintained school is likely to become

accountable to both.• An academy is accountable to both. • MATs are accountable to both.

The problem:"Head teachers tell us that the frameworks used by Regional Schools Commissioners to monitor quality are unclear and that differences in the frameworks used by their trust, by Ofsted and by the Regional Schools Commissioners can create conflicting expectations around which areas schools need to improve on."Professor Toby Greany & Dr Melanie Ehren

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Ofsted Performance measures

RSC ‘checking’ activities

Possible RSC interventions

Commission Training/support

Accountability

RSC’s provide input & output to accountability machine

CHECKING

RESPONDING

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Ofsted & RSC's"The relationship between Ofsted and RSCs, both nationally and regionally, remains unsatisfactory and we believe there is still more work to be done to clarify the distinction between Ofstedinspections and RSC visits. As MATs expand Ofsted must be given a new framework to conduct full inspections of trusts."

House of Commons Education Committee

Multi-academy trusts Seventh Report of Session 2016–17

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Local Authorities"The role and responsibilities of local authorities as MATs expand in size and number must be clarified by the Government. Further to this the Government should recognise the experience and expertise of the highest performing local authorities and allow their education departments to create MATs."

House of Commons Education Committee

Multi-academy trusts Seventh Report of Session 2016–17

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Governance"The NGA warned that there can be a power struggle between trust boards and local governing boards where changes have not been well communicated. In oral evidence to us Emma Knights, Chief Executive of the NGA, stressed the importance of Schemes of Delegation, which she said every MAT should publish. The NGA called the Scheme of Delegation “the key document for defining the relationship between the MAT trust board and its schools”. It crucially “establishes who makes which decisions and ensures all those within the MAT and governing bodies of schools potentially looking to join a MAT are clear.”

House of Commons Education Committee

Multi-academy trusts Seventh Report of Session 2016–17

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All hands on deck

How to stay afloat in the sea of accountability:• Dangers to be aware of• Strategies you could try• Communicating your school’s narrative

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2016 Handbook• No major changes/surprisesHeadlines:• Governance – meet the ‘right people’, esp. in MATs. Meetings

should be with those ‘directly responsible’ for exercising governance and overseeing performance. How do schools develop Governors?

• ‘Improvement periods’ (30 months for new Heads of RI schools). • 'Expected progress' removed, in line with perf. measures• Disadvantaged – ‘In-school gaps’ removed. Focus on comparing

disadvantaged, by starting point, with national other of same starting point.

• Academy orders for maintained judged Inadequate.• Possible rebrokering for academies judged Inadequate.

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• School websites – rationale & evaluation of school’s pupil premium strategy & impact of Y7 literacy & numeracy catch up premium

• Online questionnaires – view of staff & pupils gathered through this. Quick turnaround for 1 day inspections.

• TLA – listen to most able and lower attaining pupils read

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Short Vs Full Inspections

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Section 5 Vs Section 8Section 5

• Full inspection• 2 days• Covers whole CIF• Can change all

judgements

Section 8• Short inspection• 1 day• Focus on ‘lines of

enquiry’ (not whole CIF)• Can’t change

judgements – only reaffirms ‘Good’ (or not!)

• Can convert to S5

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Section 8 Short InspectionLines of Enquiry

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Ofsted pilots variations of S8/S5 conversions:There are three principal models (although Ofsted indicates it is possible that Ofsted’s Regional Directors might trial slight alterations):• The short inspection lead Ofsted inspector stays on and leads the

full inspection.• The short inspection lead Ofsted inspector hands over to an HMI,

who comes on site the day after the short inspection and goes straight into the full inspection, following a brief meeting with the short inspection lead Ofsted inspector.

• The short inspection lead Ofsted inspector hands over to an HMI and they meet off site on the day after the short inspection to plan. The lead HMI completes the full inspection the next day depending on the size of the school.

BREAKING NEWS

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Judging Progress

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The Big Challenge of 2016/2017:Judging progress is difficult• New performance measures• Lack of comparability between 2016 and 2015 (and

2014)• No more Levels – schools doing their own thing• Less prescriptive Ofsted framework = more

‘professional judgment’

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How well is this school doing?

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Averages can disguise the 'real' picture

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Get scatterplot savvy

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SEN

Groups by starting point

Overall

Disadvantaged

It's about more than the 'overall'

Groups are key

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Groups by starting point

Disadvantaged

Data should be used to drill down into groups (and groups of groups!)

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Anticipate: What would your lines of enquiry be?

Line of enquiry What would you look at to test this line of enquiry?

How can the school prepare for this?

1.

2.

3.

ACTIVITY

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Progress & assessment at KS3

• Share your data – they might not ask for it!• Ensure assessment framework is rigorous• Build in quality assurance processes (moderation?)• Benchmark against others beyond your school (e.g. GL

Assessment)• Compare against what you would expect age group to achieve• Don't deliberately engineer something too harsh/too lenient.

Focus on consistency and accuracy• Assessment should be useful to students (first and foremost)• Be purposeful. Be prepared to talk about how your curriculum and

assessment are designed to help students make progress.

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Progress & assessment at KS4

• Don’t compare 2014 to 2015 and 2016.• Instead, you could create a broad brush narrative around

how you did according to performance measures. “In 2014 and 2015, our 5 A*-C inc Eng & Maths attainment was below the national average. In 2016 our attainment compared favourably with the national picture.”Just a reminder: Don’t compare 2014 to 2015 and 2016!• Share your internal data – they might not ask for it!• How do you know your data is accurate? Build a picture that

shows inspectors they can be confident in what you say.o Moderation? o How accurate were previous forecasts?

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Safeguarding

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Is T,L&A O?

Are other key judgments O?

Are the other key judgments G or

better?

Exceptional circumstances one may be RI

Exceptional circumstances one may be G

Is SMSC weak?

Is safeguarding

effective?

Is SMSC weak?

Are there serious

weaknesses in SMSC?

Inadequate

Are any key judgements Inadequate?

Yes

No

Are there serious

weaknesses in SMSC?

Is safeguarding

effective?

Requires Improvement

Is SMSC weak?

Are there serious

weaknesses in SMSC?

Good

Is safeguarding

effective?Outstanding

Health Warning:These are

likely pathways

Start here

Why is safeguarding important at inspection time?

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Required reading

Essential!All staff (not just teaching staff) MUST read Section 1.

Need to know school safeguarding policies and how to recognise & report signs of abuse & neglect.

Staff need to know who the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) is.

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What will Ofsted look for?Sean Harford’s Blog, 7th Decemberhttps://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2016/12/07/inspection-and-revisions-to-safeguarding-guidance/

• Child protection policy and staff behaviour policy (code of conduct), covering acceptable use of tech, staff/pupil relationships & comms, use of social media.

• Expect staff to be aware of these• Expect staff to know the role of the DSL• Expect governing body to ensure appropriate policies &

procedures are in place and implemented.

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What if there is a mistake on the SCR?Minor administrative errors can be overlooked if:- It can be fixed before final team meeting- Failure to record one or two dates- Individual entry is illegible- One or two omissions where it is clear the info is already held

by the school but they have failed to transfer over in full to the SCR

No allowance will be made for breaches to the requirements for DBS and barring scheme checks.

*See ASCL guidance on how to use SIMS to keep the Single Central Record

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Banana skinsSite access arrangements• Don’t need a perimeter fence (but it helps)• If not, have you risk assessed for intruders on site?• What procedures have you put in place?• Will inspectors see these in operation?

Registration & absence• Are your procedures sound (including for sixth form)?• Keep a paper trail for key decisions e.g. part-time timetables• The rigour with which absence is followed up including checks when pupils cease

attending

Governance• How do governors ensure that statutory requirements are being met?

Alternative provision• It is the school's responsibility and will be visited by inspectors

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Communicating your narrative

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Another art discussion:Who painted it?

What does it depict?

What was the full message?

ACTIVITY

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What is your school’s narrative?Tell the person next to you about your school.

ACTIVITY

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What was in your school’s narrative?• What is important about your context?

• What do you do well?• What are your priorities for

improvement?

• What have you already improved? (Impact of leadership)

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Communicating your narrative is often best done by someone else.

- It’s not just what SLT say. - Is everyone on the same page?- Have you consciously shaped your narrative so that others can share it too?

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Consistent messages to/from staff• Consider how you will brief them if/when the call comes and what

you will require from them (Seating plans?)• Share with them the key strengths and areas for improvement

(consider a 1 page summary – think ‘Bayside’)• Emphasise where you have improved aspects or responded to

feedback. • Review your policies (especially around marking and assessment).

Work with staff to ensure policies are being followed = consistency.

• Consider removing Ofsted as the driver in your conversations. Put the emphasis on your young people.

• Avoid surprises in the staff surveys. Do your own survey and act on the feedback as required. Share the impact.

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Consistent messages to/from students• Consider how/if you will brief them if/when the call comes and

what you will require from them.• Don’t wait until the inspection to build them up – do it over the

long term. Confident, happy kids tend to speak well about their school.

• Remove Ofsted as the driver in your conversations. Put the emphasis on your young people and their community.

• Avoid surprises in the student surveys. Do your own survey and act on the feedback as required. Share the impact with the students.

• Reflect back at them the successes, changes and key messages relevant to your school. Assemblies are a good time to share positive messages.

• Don’t suddenly do these when you get the call. Do these things because it’s good practice – not just for inspection.

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Consistent messages to/from governors• Consider who Ofsted will expect to meet – people ‘directly

responsible’ for accountability. Ensure they are well-informed.• Do you know who you can call on and when? Some schools share

diaries of key governors. • Governors don’t need to memorise the school’s data.• They do need to know and understand the strategic priorities.• Ensure they are aware of their responsibilities and can talk about

how they have discharged these for the benefit of the school. • You will want to brief governors in advance of their meeting with

inspectors.

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Consistent messages to/from parents• Look now at your Parent View responses. How many do you

have? What are they saying?• Try to engage your parents with Parent View – now!• Consider using Parents Evenings to get them onto Parent

View• Do your own survey work. Show what you’ve done in

response and what the impact of this is.• Don’t allow ‘rogues’ to side-track you or knock you off stride. • Use parental communication channels over the long term to

communicate improvements etc you have made.• Play the long game. Can’t fix this at the 11th hour!

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Narrative Ofsted myths & handbook

Anticipate lines of enquiry

Contact ASCL

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Whilst the information provided at this event was correct to the best of the knowledge of the presenters and organisers, neither ASCL nor ASCL Professional Development can accept liability if at a later date this should prove not to be the case. Nor can they be held responsible for any errors or any consequences resulting from its use.

Please also see the ASCL website for details of our copyright statement.

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