Three experts offer a wealth of advice including some simple tenets of best practice for preparing for and handling Ofsted.
Our advice covers the 90-minute phone call, what needs to be in place pre-inspection, being ‘Ofsted-ready’ without burdening staff, and what data you need to have in place.
We offer tips for hosting the inspection team and managing the two days, including the emotional stress. We discuss protecting staff wellbeing and workload before and during inspection.
We highlight trends from recent inspections, including the issues inspectors are asking schools about. And we discuss what you can do if things are going wrong, including how to challenge inspectors.
Finally, we give you a sneaky hack for how you can predict when your inspection is due...
This episode is hosted by Pete Henshaw, the editor of SecEd, and our guests are:
- Paul K Ainsworth has held director of school improvement roles in four multi-academy trusts and currently works with Infinity Academies Trust in Lincolnshire. He has supported leaders of small rural secondary schools to large 11 to 18 urban ones, working intensively with those in Ofsted categories. He is the author of No Silver Bullets: Day-in, day-out school improvement and a TEDx speaker.
- Tom Middlehurst is curriculum, qualifications and inspection specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders.
- Patrick Cozier is an experienced secondary school headteacher of 16 years. He leads Highgate Wood School in Haringey. He also chairs the Haringey Secondary Heads’ Forum and takes a leading role in the work of the Racial Equity Group (part of the Haringey Education Partnership). He serves as a trustee for the charity Show Racism the Red Card.
To hear other SecEd podcasts, or to subscribe for free to new editions, search for 'The SecEd Podcast' in your podcast streaming application of choice. Or visit www.sec-ed.co.uk/podcasts
For details about The SecEd Podcast, or to suggest future topics, email editor Pete Henshaw at editor@sec-ed.co.uk