Amanda Spielman at the 2021 Schools & Academies Show
The Chief Inspector discussed Ofsted's work and the impact of COVID on schools at the Schools & Academies Show in Birmingham.
It바카라 사이트™s very good to be here! Technology has had its place over the last 20 months, but this certainly beats talking to you through a screen. Being here today is another marker of how far we바카라 사이트™ve come, and how we바카라 사이트™re slowly but surely regaining a bit of normality.
But I know no one would say that we바카라 사이트™re out of the woods just yet. I know this really isn바카라 사이트™t 바카라 사이트˜business as usual바카라 사이트™. Many of you are coping with so much staff and pupil absences. Doing your best for children at home, children in class, not to mention dealing with on-site vaccinations. So, first of all, I want to reassure you that we do get that. We know what you바카라 사이트™re up against. I바카라 사이트™ll come on to how that바카라 사이트™s feeding into inspection a bit later.
All that being said, we are seeing many of you happy to be working a bit more normally. And schools really are doing a great job. It바카라 사이트™s been brilliant to see your optimism, your commitment and your enthusiasm this year.
At Ofsted, we바카라 사이트™re glad to be working more normally too. As you know, we바카라 사이트™re back to routine inspections 바카라 사이트“ including outstanding schools.
And I know this is a big step. But it바카라 사이트™s the right step. Because now바카라 사이트™s the time to move forward, not back. Given the last 20 months, it바카라 사이트™s actually never been more important for us to be in schools, seeing what바카라 사이트™s happening for children; having conversations with teachers; building on what we learned through our visits last year. That바카라 사이트™s the right thing for parents and it바카라 사이트™s the right thing for children.
But the long-term impact of the pandemic is still uncertain. And it바카라 사이트™s often said, but true 바카라 사이트“ children have one chance at an education. So, it바카라 사이트™s up to all of us 바카라 사이트“ the whole system, including Ofsted 바카라 사이트“ to make sure that it바카라 사이트™s the best education possible.
I don바카라 사이트™t need to tell you how critical this period of recovery is. You know just how much children have missed. Some have lost out more than others; almost all have been affected. So at a time when everyone is focused on getting back on track, we have been asked to do our inspections a bit more quickly.
Please, rest assured 바카라 사이트“ we aren바카라 사이트™t going to be turning up at every school imminently! The acceleration won바카라 사이트™t start until September 2022, since we바카라 사이트™ve pretty much fixed our inspection schedule for this year. But it does mean that we can reduce the time it takes to get to every school. Some of you have been inspected already this year, and we plan to visit all of you by summer 2025.
This has to be better for children. It gives schools more timely assurance and up to date information for parents, and it바카라 사이트™ll help government understand how the recovery effort is going.
And so far, we바카라 사이트™re seeing some encouraging signs that children are bouncing back. And many of you are doing excellent work here, making sure you understand where children are and finding the gaps. Taking careful decisions about curriculum 바카라 사이트“ what바카라 사이트™s essential for children to know, so they can get back up to speed? What바카라 사이트™s less important?
We바카라 사이트™ve seen a lot of effort going into re-establishing routines and expectations around behaviour. And it바카라 사이트™s great to see the efforts going into making school normal and fun 바카라 사이트“ such as getting those clubs up and running.
You might also know that the Department for Education has asked us to do a piece of work looking at attendance. We바카라 사이트™ve looked at the barriers to keeping children in class, and what schools are doing really well here. We바카라 사이트™ll be reporting our findings soon.
But all schools seem to be dealing with attendance issues beyond what we바카라 사이트™ve seen in previous years. And, as you바카라 사이트™d expect, that includes parent anxieties about COVID, and some children who have simply disengaged from education.
But it바카라 사이트™s clear that the tried and tested ways of dealing with persistent absence still work. Essentially, those of you doing really well on this have kept on doing what you do best: making sure parents understand your high expectations; not letting up when children don바카라 사이트™t attend; listening to the reasons why, and offering solutions. And focusing, as ever, on making learning really worthwhile, so children want to attend. That바카라 사이트™s working just as well now as it did before the pandemic. 바카라 사이트ƒ
But, with all the COVID noise in the system, it바카라 사이트™s fair to say that it바카라 사이트™s more difficult for you to work out what바카라 사이트™s going on. While you have been so bogged down with COVID management, it바카라 사이트™s been harder to spot persistent absence and to deal with it. I spoke to one head, earlier this week I think, who told me, 바카라 사이트˜we used to be teachers!바카라 사이트™
And I share your frustration. I hope it won바카라 사이트™t be long before you바카라 사이트™re able to get back to concentrating on running really great schools, without the distractions of COVID.
Another big 바카라 사이트“ and much-needed 바카라 사이트“ step for education has been the removal of the outstanding exemption.
Some of those schools hadn바카라 사이트™t been inspected for close to 15 years. That바카라 사이트™s a long time to go without checking that children are getting a good deal. A lot of children have gone through their entire school education in that time. And many parents are left wondering if their child바카라 사이트™s school is as good as the label.
The exemption was brought in for good reasons. But 10 years on, it바카라 사이트™s left a rather skewed picture. We바카라 사이트™ve effectively had a one-way accumulator, gathering more and more outstanding schools. Before the exemption was introduced, about 1 in 10 was rated outstanding, and now it바카라 사이트™s about 1 in 5. It just isn바카라 사이트™t realistic to expect that every outstanding school has maintained standards over so many years, so I do expect there to be some rebalancing of grades. Outstanding has to mean outstanding. A top grade signals a lot about a school, and it바카라 사이트™s right that it should be a high bar.
This rebalancing is already under way. Given how much children have missed already, this is absolutely the right time to bring outstanding schools back into the fold. Looking at the early outcomes, actually quite a lot of schools are keeping their outstanding judgement. Some schools have gone up to outstanding too 바카라 사이트“ which is really good to see. But some previously outstanding schools are coming out lower 바카라 사이트“ which was entirely to be expected. Most of these have only dropped one grade.
But around a fifth of outstanding schools have gone down further, mostly to requires improvement. These schools are showing weakness in their quality of education, in aspects such as curriculum design and subject knowledge. For primaries, weaknesses in phonics and reading are a common feature. They reflect reading curriculums that haven바카라 사이트™t moved on in a long time, and children not being taught systematically and well. More broadly, we바카라 사이트™re also seeing weakness in behaviour, as well as in leadership and governance.
I understand that parents might be worried. But if your child바카라 사이트™s school does have some weaknesses, it바카라 사이트™s far better to have problems recognised and addressed, rather than having them left unacknowledged.
And overall, the picture is encouraging. I can reassure you that judgements in the COVID world are not showing a pattern of systematic decline. For schools previously rated good or less, the picture is actually pretty good. Most inadequate schools inspected in the first half of this term have improved 바카라 사이트“ quite a few are now good. That바카라 사이트™s quite an achievement. And it바카라 사이트™s a similar picture for RI [requires improvement] schools: more than half of those inspected this term are now good.
So, has the shape of inspection changed in the light of COVID? Well, yes and no.
It바카라 사이트™s been a torrid 20 months, and it바카라 사이트™s absolutely right that we recognise that. We appreciate what schools have been up against. Even while routine inspection was suspended, we바카라 사이트™ve been in schools regularly, through the last school year as well as this one. We바카라 사이트™ve seen first-hand how tough it바카라 사이트™s been, and still is.
One of the benefits of the EIF [education inspection framework] is its flexibility, and we바카라 사이트™ve made some changes to meet you where you are. On every inspection, we now always discuss the impact of COVID, so that we can truly understand the issues.
We바카라 사이트™ve also amended our deferral policy, and we do respond sensitively when schools are facing particularly acute challenges. But it바카라 사이트™s absolutely right that we look at each request individually. Not every school is the same, and we have to make sure 바카라 사이트“ for children바카라 사이트™s sake 바카라 사이트“ that inspections are being postponed for the right reasons.
After so long without graded inspection, it바카라 사이트™s natural that there바카라 사이트™s been a bit of trepidation in some quarters. Though I do know that some of you are more than ready for an inspection, and actually keen to show how much you have improved.
But to reassure you, in its fundamentals, the EIF is still the same. Our focus is still squarely on substance and integrity. Bringing the inspection conversation back to the curriculum 바카라 사이트“ what바카라 사이트™s taught and how, not just about exam results. Treating you as experts in your field, not data managers.
And our emphasis in the EIF is on dialogue. I know you appreciate these professional conversations. And many schools we바카라 사이트™ve been to recently have responded just as positively as before the pandemic hit, telling us that their inspection was constructive and supportive 바카라 사이트“ just as we want them to be. 바카라 사이트ƒ I바카라 사이트™ve talked a lot about the recovery effort today, and this is where the framework really comes into its own. This is inspection that바카라 사이트™s right for right now. A strong curriculum focus when you바카라 사이트™re thinking hard about what to teach, to get children back where they need to be. Helping you think about your plans, and government and parents understand how recovery is going. That can only be a good thing. It makes the framework perhaps even more relevant than two years ago when it first came in.
And we do still expect schools to have ambitious curricula, with real breadth. But we also know that you바카라 사이트™ve had to make some hard choices. And some of you might have a curriculum that바카라 사이트™s still in development 바카라 사이트“ so we바카라 사이트™ll want to understand how you바카라 사이트™re working on it.
And some reassurance for primaries. Our subject expectations here are proportionate. We don바카라 사이트™t have impossible expectations of an all singing, all dancing curriculum, or expect you to have a department lead, like a secondary school! But, it is right that all schools 바카라 사이트“ whatever their size 바카라 사이트“ do think carefully about what they teach 바카라 사이트“ and that바카라 사이트™s what inspectors want to explore.
I also wanted to talk about our sexual abuse review, which we published this summer 바카라 사이트“ I바카라 사이트™m sure you have seen it. The findings were shocking. The sheer number of children and young people 바카라 사이트“ especially girls 바카라 사이트“ who said that they put up with harassment and abuse day in, day out, is startling. This is entirely unacceptable behaviour, normalised to the point where children often don바카라 사이트™t think it바카라 사이트™s worth reporting. Schools we visited were often underestimating the scale of the problem 바카라 사이트“ either they didn바카라 사이트™t see it as a big issue, or sometimes were simply unaware it was happening.
No one wants that for our young people, and our review rightly caused people to sit up and take notice. We바카라 사이트™ve asked schools to accept that harassment and abuse are endemic 바카라 사이트“ and to assume that they바카라 사이트™re almost certainly happening beneath the surface, even if they aren바카라 사이트™t immediately obvious. The reaction from the education sector has been very positive: I know you take this issue seriously.
And it really is tough as a teenager. I바카라 사이트™m sure all of us remember 바카라 사이트“ the hormones, the peer pressure. It바카라 사이트™s always been this way. But now teens have smartphones. The internet. Easy access to pornography. Layers of complexity that make it so hard for young people to navigate growing up, and to make the right choices.
It바카라 사이트™s a cultural issue 바카라 사이트“ about attitudes and behaviours becoming normalised. And as I바카라 사이트™ve said many times before, schools can바카라 사이트™t solve that by themselves. There바카라 사이트™s a clear role here for government. And, of course, parents are vital too.
Children do need to be taught the right thing to do, and have that teaching reinforced over time. Schools have an important role. Building the right culture. Providing a well-sequenced RSHE curriculum that makes time for open discussion of the aspects that children are finding particularly difficult. So, while schools can바카라 사이트™t solve all society바카라 사이트™s problems, good schools, doing what they do really well, can make a difference.
The review recommended a whole-school approach that includes a strong RSHE curriculum, based on the statutory guidance; making sure that RSHE teachers are committed and well-trained; and better working between local safeguarding partners.
As you바카라 사이트™d expect, our findings are feeding proportionately into inspection. Again, this is about culture, as much as about safeguarding 바카라 사이트“ important as that is. We always hope to see a culture where sexual harassment and abuse aren바카라 사이트™t tolerated, where issues are spotted and intervention happens earlier.
Another piece of work we published during COVID was on . If you haven바카라 사이트™t seen it, we reported that many trusts have been able to support schools effectively through COVID. The structure and central guidance they provide was clearly helpful for many schools in a time of crisis.
But our research also reminded us about how much decision-making in the system has shifted over the last 15 years 바카라 사이트“ and that, as I바카라 사이트™ve said before, current accountability doesn바카라 사이트™t entirely fit with the way schools and MATs operate.
At the moment, our view is limited, because inspections only happen at school level, while schools in MATs operate as part of a bigger entity. Crucial decisions can be happening at different levels within MATs.
Inspection needs to keep pace. If it doesn바카라 사이트™t, we risk having artificial conversations with the people who aren바카라 사이트™t actually making the decisions. So it바카라 사이트™s about speaking to the right people at the right levels, and looking at the system as it바카라 사이트™s working today, not as it ran decades ago.
For schools in MATs, part of their resilience comes from what happens at trust level. And equally, no structure is perfect, and things can and do go wrong. So, it바카라 사이트™s important that we have the right tools and levers to spot when that바카라 사이트™s happening.
That바카라 사이트™s why I바카라 사이트™m pleased to be restarting MAT summary evaluations, which have been on hold because of COVID. The programme will give us a more extensive view than we바카라 사이트™ve had before.
So, I have spoken a lot today about the challenges of COVID. There바카라 사이트™s no denying these are still with us and may be for some time to come. But everything I바카라 사이트™ve seen suggests that you are more than rising to them. Over the last 20 months you have shown how resilient and adaptable you are. Children really are in the best hands.
And for our part, we바카라 사이트™ll carry on supporting recovery, through constructive conversations in our inspections, reporting what바카라 사이트™s working well and through our research. We want to help the sector improve and in turn, help children get where they need to be.
Thank you.