1. Common Inspection Framework
What is proposed?

2. Introduction
Under the direction of a new Chief Inspector (HMCI), Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted are consulting on further changes which they believe will improve the system by raising standards and expectations.
They have been designed to, in Sir Michael’s words, “challenge the further education and skills sector to achieve the highest standards.”
This follows the Ofsted Chief Inspector’s Annual Report 2010/11, which said that there was not enough outstanding teaching and learning and that too many institutions were “coasting” at satisfactory level without adequate improvement over a series of inspections.

3. Summary of New Changes From 1 September 2012:
For an institution to be ‘outstanding’ overall, it must have ‘outstanding’ teaching, learning and assessment
Grade 3 will be retitled from ‘satisfactory’ to ‘requires improvement’
An institution which receives a ‘requires improvement’ overall judgement will be re-inspected earlier

4. Summary of New Changes
An institution which receives ‘requires improvement’ overall at its third consecutive inspection will be judged ‘inadequate.’
Inspections will take place without notice
Institutions will be asked to provide anonymised summaries of performance management data of teachers, trainers and assessors.

5. Outstanding
Teaching and learning

6. Outstanding Teaching and Learning
This proposal seeks to, in effect, prevent an institution being graded ‘outstanding’ overall unless it has outstanding teaching, learning and assessment.

7. Current system
Providers can be judged ‘outstanding’ overall if quality of teaching and learning is at least ‘good’.

8. Proposed new system
The top grade of ‘outstanding’ will only be awarded if the grade for ‘quality of teaching, learning and assessment’ is also ‘outstanding’.

9. Additional Information
‘Quality of teaching, learning and assessment’ will be one of three headline grades that contribute to ’overall effectiveness; the others being ‘outcomes for learners’ and ‘effectiveness of leadership and management.’

10. Additional Information
Under the new Common Inspection Framework, which comes in to effect in September, the criteria which informs the grade for ‘quality of teaching, learning and assessment’ will be:
Staff demonstrate high expectations, enthuse, engage, support and motivate learners so that they learn and make progress
Staff set challenging tasks, build on and extend learning for all learners
Staff have appropriate skills and expertise to provide good quality teaching, learning, assessment and support for each learner

11. Additional Information
Staff assess learners’ progress and provide for a range of needs including learners with learning difficulties and / or disabilities
Equality and diversity are promoted through teaching and learning
Teaching develops literacy, numeracy, language and functional skills, independent and lifelong learning to support the achievement of learning goals
Learning is effectively supported by appropriate and timely information, advice and guidance on next steps in training, education and employment

12. Retitling ‘satisfactory’ to ‘requires improvement.’

13. Retitling ‘satisfactory’ to ‘requires improvement.’
Ofsted believe that the renaming of grade 3 from ‘satisfactory’ to ‘requires improvement’ will raise expectations of weaker performing providers and bring about rapid improvement.

14. Current system
The grading scale for all inspection judgements under the common inspection framework is:
Grade 1: outstanding
Grade 2: good
Grade 3: satisfactory
Grade 4: inadequate

15. Proposed new system The grading scale from September 2012 will be:
Grade 1: outstanding
Grade 2: good
Grade 3: requires improvement
Grade 4: inadequate

16. Additional Information
It has been broadly accepted that ‘satisfactory’ doesn’t actually mean what it says.
To that end, this is a name change only as the proposals specifically rules out alteration of the grade boundaries.
It is proposed that this name change will take place in throughout the inspection process of schools and initial teacher training in addition to the further education and skills sector.

17. Earlier re-inspection of providers judged ‘requires improvement’
One reason behind the reforms of the Ofsted inspection framework is that improvement can take too long and there are too many instances where providers at Grade 3 do not improve after consecutive inspections.

18. Current system
Providers that are judged Grade 3 (satisfactory) overall receive a monitoring inspection after two years and a full inspection after four years.

19. Proposed new system
Providers that are judged grade 3 (requires improvement) will receive a full inspection within months, not a monitoring visit

20. ‘requires improvement.’
Additional Information
It is worth bearing in mind how this proposal ties in with the wider reforms to the Ofsted inspection process.
For example, these earlier inspections will be without notice and, under further proposals outlined below, providers that have been judged at grade 3 overall on their third consecutive inspection will automatically fall under the category of ‘inadequate.’

21. ‘Inadequate’ at three consecutive ‘requires improvement.’
Ofsted acknowledge that most providers that are graded ‘satisfactory’ overall improve and are judged at least ‘good’ by the time of their next inspection. They report however that just under half of the providers that were inspected in 2010/11 that were judged ‘satisfactory’ for at least the second time or had declined.

22. Current system
There is currently no protocol in place which re-grades institutions on the premise of repeat performance

23. Proposed new system
A provider that is judged ‘requires improvement’ at its third consecutive inspection without improvement will be graded ‘inadequate.’

24. Additional Information
In September this year, providers who are currently judged as ‘satisfactory’ will be considered to have had one ‘requires improvement’.
Providers that are judged as ‘inadequate’ overall receive a monitoring visit after 6-8 months and will have a full inspection months after the original inspection.

25. Inspections
Without notice

26. Inspections without notice
This proposal seeks to enable Ofsted inspectors to gain a real life view of a provider and to provide the public with confidence that the inspection system is as robust as it can be.

27. Current system
Providers are given two to three working weeks notice prior to inspection

28. Proposed new system
Ofsted will no longer provide any notice and will arrive unannounced

29. Additional Information
No-notice inspections already take place in other areas of Ofsted’s work including in some early years and social care settings.
Furthermore, this policy is also planned to be implemented in schools and initial teacher education provision.
Ofsted are currently carrying out pilot inspections under this proposed framework and a no-notice inspection was recently carried out at Exeter College

30. Anonymous performance management data of teachers, trainers and assessors

31. Anonymous performance management data of teachers, trainers and assessors
Ofsted propose that by acquiring anonymous performance management data of teachers, trainers and assessors, they can provide judgements on how well this data is used to drive improvement.

32. Current system
No current emphasis in the current common inspection framework between performance management and improvement.

33. Proposed new system
That Ofsted ask providers to supply anonymised information on performance management outcomes to inspectors.

34. Additional Information
Ofsted believe that the use, by senior managers, of performance management and professional development should increase the effectiveness of teaching, learning and assessment.
The proposals state that the data supplied will not be used directly in the inspection report but will help determine whether senior managers and governing bodies are using performance management data appropriately to drive improvement of teaching, learning and assessment.