Draft of new schools’ inspection framework out for consultation

Wednesday 06 March 2019

Consultation is under way on the draft new schools’ inspection framework to replace the former which had been in place since 2015.

It has been developed by the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture in conjunction with Ofsted, which is taking over as the inspectorate of Bailiwick schools from September this year.

The inspection framework against which Bailiwick schools have been assessed in recent years is an ‘off the shelf’ document produced by Education Scotland. In contrast, the new inspection framework developed in conjunction with Ofsted has been written specifically for the Bailiwick and is tailored to reflect local circumstances and current education priorities.

States’ schools and colleges in Guernsey and Alderney are now being consulted on the draft framework. The consultation process will last six weeks and is open to all education professionals in the States’ sector and the professional associations and unions.

The Committee is inviting the views of school leaders and teachers on four key areas against which the new inspection framework proposes to evaluate schools in the future:

• Quality of education – to consider the curriculum and the quality of teaching and assessment;

• Behaviour and attitudes – to consider how leaders and staff create a safe, calm and positive environment in the school and the impact this has on pupils;

• Personal development and welfare – to analyse how well the curriculum provided by the school extends beyond academic subjects and how students are supported to develop these strengths;

• School leadership and management – to consider whether school leaders have created a culture of high expectations, aspirations and excellence within their school.

The Committee is also asking for feedback on the notice period which the inspectorate should be required to provide before starting an inspection and how evidence should be gathered to inform the outcomes of inspections.

The consultation opened on Tuesday 5 March and closes on Thursday 25 April.

Following the consultation period, all feedback obtained will be considered by the Committee before the final inspection framework is published well before the end of the current academic year. Inspections using the new framework will commence early in the 2019/20 academic year, initially with pilots in the primary and secondary sector before the first full inspection after Christmas.

Deputy Matt Fallaize, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture (above), said:

“The views of education professionals are valued by the Committee and we look forward to receiving their views on the draft inspection framework.

“The Committee appointed Ofsted as our new inspectorate because it is best placed to provide schools and the wider community with rigorous and objective assessments of performance against an inspection framework designed specifically for the local context in the Bailiwick.

“The Committee previously made a commitment to schools that self-evaluation would continue to be an important part of continuous school improvement in the Bailiwick. I am pleased the draft new inspection framework recognises the importance of self-evaluation by providing for the inspectorate to consider the rigour and reliability of a school’s self-evaluation arrangements.”