1. Ofsted Education Inspection Framework – from September 2019
“Seven-minute Staff Meeting”
Ofsted Education Inspection Framework – from September 2019
Key documents
Maintained schools and academies section 5 inspection handbook
Maintained schools and academies section 8 inspection handbook
Inspecting the Curriculum
Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings
EPHA preparation checklist following the notification phone call

2. Introduction
Ofsted has published a new inspection framework (EIF), following a consultation to which over 15,000 people responded. The new framework will apply from September 2019.
The new key judgements, grade descriptors and inspection methodology are set out in the inspection handbooks, which describe the main activities carried out during inspections of maintained schools and academies under section 5 and section 8 of the Education Act 2005.
The four-point grade scale remains the same.
Ofsted has published a new inspection framework (EIF), following a consultation to which over 15,000 people responded. The new framework will apply from September 2019.
The new key judgements, grade descriptors and inspection methodology are set out in the inspection handbooks, which describe the main activities carried out during inspections of maintained schools and academies under section 5 and section 8 of the Education Act There are separate handbooks for the inspection of early years, further education and skills, and independent settings.
Ofsted will continue to pilot the new framework during the summer term 2019, to further refine the inspection methodology and test operational systems before implementation on 1 September 2019.
155. The evaluation schedule is not exhaustive. It does not replace the professional judgement of inspectors. Inspectors must interpret the way that grades are described according to pupils’ age, stage and phase of education.
156. Inspectors will make judgements on the following:
 overall effectiveness
and the four key judgements:
 the quality of education
 behaviour and attitudes
 personal development
 leadership and management
and, where relevant, judgements on the quality of provision in:
 early years education
 the sixth form.
157. Inspectors use the following four-point scale to make all judgements:
 grade 1: outstanding
 grade 2: good
 grade 3: requires improvement
 grade 4: inadequate.
Reaching a judgement of outstanding
This handbook introduces a new method of evaluating whether a school is outstanding in one or more judgement areas. Outstanding is a challenging and exacting judgement. In order to reach this standard, inspectors will determine whether the school meets all the criteria for good under that judgement, and does so securely and consistently. In other words, it is not enough that the school is strong against some aspects of the judgement and not against others, but it must meet each and every good criterion. In addition, there are further criteria set out under the outstanding judgement, which the school will also need to meet. Our aim in making this change is that schools should only be judged outstanding in a particular area if they are performing exceptionally, and this exceptional performance

3. Key changes to inspection
A new 'quality of education' measure which puts greater emphasis on the curriculum
Separate judgements for 'behaviour and attitudes' and 'personal development'
Increasing the length of section 8 ('short') inspections from 1 to 2 days
A 90-minute phone call between the lead inspector and the headteacher on the afternoon before an inspection begins
Inspectors won't look at a school’s internal performance data first-hand. If the school wants to use data, they'll be interested in the conclusions that are drawn and actions taken from that data
Explain that there are 5 main changes that will affect inspections of both maintained schools and academies. These are:
The introduction of a ‘quality of education’ judgement. This replaces and combines the ‘quality of teaching, learning and assessment’ and ‘outcomes’ judgements from the current framework. It’ll include a greater focus on the curriculum, structured around 3 pillars: intent, implementation and impact. We’ll look at these more in a moment
Separate judgements for ‘personal development’ and ‘behaviour and attitudes’. On the whole, the way these areas are inspected is not changing. Ofsted says the separation is intended to enhance the focus on each individually, and to allow for clearer reporting
Section 8 (‘short’) inspections to happen over 2 days instead of 1. This applies to schools rated ‘good’. It doesn’t apply to small schools (those with fewer than 150 pupils on roll). Explain that Ofsted’s rationale for this is to give inspectors sufficient opportunity to gather evidence that a school is still ‘good’. These inspections will primarily centre on ‘quality of education’, focusing on a few key areas, including the sequence and structure of the curriculum and evidence of inappropriate curriculum narrowing. In primary schools, inspectors will look at how well pupils can read. In secondary schools, inspectors will look at whether the school is working towards the EBacc as the foundation of a Key Stage 4 curriculum
A 90-minute phone call between the lead inspector and the headteacher on the afternoon before an inspection, to save time doing administrative tasks on the day of the inspection itself. This is to replace the ‘on-site preparation time’ that Ofsted initially proposed
Inspectors will no longer look at non-statutory internal progress and attainment data during an inspection. Ofsted says this is to help make sure an inspection doesn’t create unnecessary workload for any school staff
Remind staff that, over the past year or so, there has been some speculation about other possible changes, but they haven’t been included in the new framework or handbooks.
‘Outstanding’ schools will still be exempt from routine inspections (‘satisfactory’ schools: inspected every 3 years, ‘good’ schools: inspected every 5 years). Special schools, pupil referral units and maintained nursery schools are not exempt
The existing ‘overall effectiveness’ and ‘leadership and management’ judgements will remain
There’s no sign that Ofsted will carry out full inspections of multi-academy trusts, or that there’ll be a separate inspection framework for these trusts
The 4-point grading scale remains (including ‘outstanding’)

4. The main focus of inspection
Intent - what are we trying to achieve through our curriculum?
Implementation – how is our curriculum being delivered?
Impact – what difference is our curriculum making?
The‘quality of education’ judgement is the biggest change in the new framework. The curriculum is currently inspected under the existing framework, but it doesn’t have a standalone judgement
Explain that Ofsted has developed a working definition of ‘curriculum’ to help schools think about and plan their curriculum in a structured way. In practice, it means being clear on the school’s answers to 3 key questions:
What are we trying to achieve through our curriculum? (Intent)
How is our curriculum being delivered? (Implementation)
What difference is our curriculum making? (Impact)
Clarify that:
Intent, implementation and impact will not be graded separately
There’s no ‘Ofsted-prescribed’ curriculum
Curriculum encompasses, but is not the same thing as the timetable, what qualifications the school offers, or ‘what will be on the test’
No school is expected to overhaul its curriculum or devise creative or elaborate activities for the sake of it
The image shows what ‘intent, implementation and impact’ look like in a wider school setting, and in the classroom.
Image adapted from a presentation by Sean Harford, Ofsted’s national director of education, in March 2018.
Key documents include Inspecting the curriculum
Ofsted research report: An investigation into how to assess the quality of education through curriculum intent, implementation and impact
I received the following feedback from an Ofsted inspector about pilot inspections, which you could consider (with the usual health warning that no two inspections are the same, and these are currently pilots): On the pilot I did, each inspector seemed to follow a similar inspection sequence, e.g, I looked at history which involved initially meeting the DHT & curriculum leader to discuss how history is approached in school, I then observed some lessons and looked at pupils books in lessons, this was followed up by meeting 8 children from Yrs 3-6 with their topic/history books to 'grill' them about learning history. The final aspect was then to meet with the 'history' coordinator to look more at sequencing of teaching and progression in the school, which she found very difficult as most schools aren't prepared for this. The other three inspectors did the same just with other areas of focus. 
It appears to me that inspections could follow this model: 
Senior leaders - Curriculum/subject leaders - Observations - work scrutiny - teachers - pupils
It's worth noting/saying, that there is no expectation that schools will have a curriculum or subject specific lead. My concern is that following a few inspections schools may feel they need to have these posts.

5. 2 minute discussion
Are you confident talking about what your school is trying to achieve through its curriculum, how it is being delivered and what difference is it making?
What further information do you need to prepare for the new Ofsted framework?
This list includes possible information about what your school is doing to prepare for the new Ofsted framework. This may include, but does not have to be limited to:
Surveying staff/pupils/governors/parents on what they’d like to see in the school’s curriculum
Auditing staff members’ confidence in their curriculum development and design skills
Regular staff meetings and discussions about the curriculum
Regular work scrutiny to inform discussions about impact and progress
Exploring the possibility of offering additional subjects or extra-curricular activities
Reviewing the school’s behaviour policy
Tackling staff workload, particularly around data collection and analysis
Training and informing governors about their role, monitoring visits and understanding of the new framework

6. The inspection process
Notification and preparation
Inspection activity
Feedback and judgements
Notification of inspection
Ofsted will normally contact the school by telephone to announce the inspection between 10.30am and 2pm on the school day before the inspection. During the initial notification phone call, the inspection support administrator will check the number of pupils on roll at the school, the governance arrangements for the school and whether the school has any SEND, nursery provision for two- and three-year-olds or additional resource provision.
EPHA has produced a checklist of tasks that need to be done following the notification phone call and the start of inspection.
Preparation phone call Once Ofsted has informed the school of the inspection, the lead inspector will contact the school by telephone and ask to speak to the headteacher.
Inspection activity
Inspections do not normally last longer than two days. The size of the inspection team will vary according to the size and nature of the school. On the first day of the inspection, inspectors will not arrive before 8am.
Although meetings with leaders are important, inspectors’ first priority during inspections is to collect first-hand evidence. Inspectors will observe lessons; scrutinise pupils’ work; talk to pupils about their work, gauging both their understanding and their engagement in learning; and gather pupils’ perceptions of the typical quality of education and other aspects of life at the school in a range of subjects. Inspectors will evaluate evidence of the impact of the curriculum, including on the most
Disadvantaged pupils. This includes pupils with SEND.
Other evidence gathered by inspectors will include: discussions with pupils and staff; listening to pupils read; and looking at examples of pupils’ work for evidence of progress in knowledge,
understanding and skills towards defined endpoints. Inspectors will also scrutinise the school’s records and documentation relating, for example, to the welfare and safety of pupils in alternative provision.
Feedback and judgements
Inspection activity, including lesson observations, will continue during day 2. The team will also ensure that time is set aside to complete any feedback to staff and to prepare for the final team meeting and the final feedback. During the final team meeting, an electronic summary evaluation form will be completed. The main points for feedback to the school will be recorded as the meeting progresses.
The on-site inspection ends with a final feedback meeting with the school. Those connected with the school who may attend include:
the headteacher and other senior leaders, agreed by the lead inspector and headteacher
for maintained schools, the chair of the school’s governing body and as many governors as possible
for academies, including academies that are part of a MAT, the chair of the board of trustees and as many trustees as possible
in an academy that is part of a MAT, the CEO or their delegate or equivalent
a representative from the local authority (for maintained schools) sponsor and/or the designated responsible body
During this meeting, the lead inspector will ensure that the headteacher, those responsible for governance and all attendees are clear:
about the provisional grades awarded for each key judgement, and
that the grades are provisional and so may be subject to change as a result of quality assurance procedures or moderation and must, therefore, be treated as restricted and confidential to the relevant senior personnel (as determined by the school).
They may be shared with school staff and all those responsible for the governance of the school, irrespective of whether they attended the meeting, so long as they are clearly marked as provisional and subject to quality assurance. Information about the inspection outcomes should be shared more widely only when the school receives a copy of the final inspection report.

7. Section 8 inspection
The Section 8 handbook sets out the arrangements for carrying out inspections under section 8.
The EIF provides for inspection to be proportionate to the performance and circumstances of schools. Consequently, good schools will normally receive a two-day section 8 inspection approximately every four years.  
In almost all cases, a section 8 inspection of a good or non- exempt outstanding school will last for two days. However, a section 8 inspection of any good primary school or a good/outstanding maintained nursery school that has fewer than 150 pupils or children on its roll will last for one day.
Ofsted will use the same sources of evidence for a section 8 inspection, although in lesser depth than for a section 5 inspection (for example, a smaller sample of pupils’ work)
Section 8 inspections
The Section 8 handbook sets out the arrangements for carrying out inspections under section 8 in the following circumstances:
section 8 inspections of schools judged to be good at their most recent section 5 inspection and those outstanding schools that are not exempt from section 5. The EIF provides for inspection to be proportionate to the performance and circumstances of schools. Consequently, good schools will normally receive a two-day section 8 inspection approximately every four years.
In almost all cases, a section 8 inspection of a good or non-exempt outstanding school will last for two days. However, a section 8 inspection of any good primary school or a good/outstanding maintained nursery school that has fewer than 150 pupils or children on its roll will last for one day. Regardless of number on roll, section 8 inspections of special schools and PRUs will last for two days, given the often complex nature of the provision.
monitoring inspections of schools judged as requires improvement
monitoring inspections of schools judged to have serious weaknesses
monitoring inspections of schools judged to require special measures
any inspection that is carried out in other circumstances where the inspection has no specific designation, known as ‘section 8 no formal designation inspection’
unannounced behaviour inspections.

8. Additional guidance and further reading
Education Inspection Framework September 2019
Maintained schools and academies section 5 inspection handbook
Maintained schools and academies section 8 inspection handbook
Early Years inspection handbook
Inspecting the Curriculum
Ofsted research report: An investigation into how to assess the quality of education through curriculum intent, implementation and impact
Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings
EPHA checklist - following the notification phone call