Julie Price Grimshaw
@Julespg
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Teacher, school development adviser, former HMI, Gàidhlig learner, church organist. Fond of dogs, cats and horses. Lifelong MCFC fan. https://t.co/B00g338AU2
Wester Ross, Scotland
Joined June 2009
This week I had a discussion with an HMI who was leading a school monitoring visit. She was absolutely excellent - a skilled and compassionate inspector. A HT said 'that school was lucky - our HMI was brutal.' This lottery needs addressing as a matter of urgency.
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@johncosgrove405 @Julespg 2/2 hence inspections should really focus on local authorities and academy trust. CEOs and directors are paid at the right level to take the heat of Inspection. They are also responsible for school improvement.
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@johncosgrove405 @Julespg 1/2 I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the whole framework and the approach to Inspection needs to be scrapped. We need to start again based on what the world looks like today, not what it looks like pre-Covid. We need to take the pressure of schools and Headteacher is.
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Last year someone posted a video of a lesson on X. Some thought it was brilliant, others thought it was poor, others thought is was in the middle. What happens in an inspection? 'Generally taught well' is so vague that it's almost meaningless.
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What worries me most is that hard-pressed school leaders will be spending an awful lot of time on this. The toolkit states that it 'can be used..to support self-evaluation.' Think of the time spent going through the checklists! [end]
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How on earth can this be done effectively within the time given? It could be argued that it might be possible if the criteria was unambiguous and didn't allow for extreme subjectivity - but as we know, it's full of 'generally/on the whole' etc etc. 4/
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For a primary with EY, we're looking at evidence against around 60 statements across the framework- & that's assuming that we're just sticking with 'expected standard'. If we're looking at strong (or further), there's even more statements. 3/
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If we look at leadership and governance, there are 9 statements. If a school evaluated L&G as 'strong', there are another 6 on top of that. So that's 15 statements for the school to provide evidence on and inspectors to check. 2/
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Inspection issues: a 🧵The toolkit descriptors aren't 'best fit', they are essentially checklists of statements. This means that schools who believe they have met the 'expected standard' would need to provide evidence for every single point in the list. 1/
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Those of us who were around when it was promised that phonics was the answer to all our reading-related problems will be interested in the introduction of a Y8 reading test...
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What does Ofsted mean by 'largely'? And what is 'necessary accuracy'? What does 'generally taught well' mean? Unless we have a great deal more clarity of terms such as this, the new framework is essentially a license for inspectors to apply their own preferences. 2/
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I've spent today looking really closely at the inspection toolkit. My verdict so far is that some parts are so vague they are almost meaningless - eg, 'pupils...largely secure the necessary accuracy & fluency in word reading, spelling, handwriting and number facts' 1/
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What the actual heck is this discussion between a GP and a farm manager? 'What's your favourite cow?' Sorry???#TheArchers
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Exactly! And Ofsted have shown that they will ignore Parent View responses as part of inspection. They claim to 'listen' to parents only when it suits them.
No other system was suggested for evaluation by the respondents. A man dying of dehydration will drink a glass of muddy water but that doesn’t make it his preference. Ofsted can’t claim that parents preferred the ‘report card’ over alternatives they weren’t shown…
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This.
So then, Ofsted unveils its “new” inspection framework today. Two and a half years after Ruth Perry’s death, and what is the result? A monumental failure of leadership from successive Secretaries of State, the DfE and Ofsted. The old framework… with a new coat of paint…
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I was a council-estate FSM child. Did I underachieve at school because teaching wasn't adapted for me on the basis that my family was relatively poor? No, I underachieved because I truanted due to the awful ultra-strict behaviour policies.
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As an FSM child myself, this hits hard. Years ago, one school had 'PP' lanyards for pupils "so that the teachers could adapt their teaching". I asked how-and there was no answer. Quite simply, there is no blanket 'adaptation' for children from low-income families.
Here's the toolkit descriptor for 'Needs Attention' (curriculum and teaching). Two big issues with this. First, if the considered adaptations to teaching are 'appropriate', how can they be 'not well matched to pupils' needs'?
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3/ I've been a teacher for decades. I adapt teaching on the basis of need, whether that's SEN, a pupil's social/emotional needs, gaps in knowledge, etc. I don't adapt my teaching simply on the basis of a family's income. What does this even look like? Do Ofsted know?
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2/ But more important - & this is something I've been on about since the intro of PP - how do we adapt teaching purely on the basis of (socio-economic) advantage? What does teaching adapted for relatively 'poor' pupils look like?
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Here's the toolkit descriptor for 'Needs Attention' (curriculum and teaching). Two big issues with this. First, if the considered adaptations to teaching are 'appropriate', how can they be 'not well matched to pupils' needs'?
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