Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

School given noticed today that ofsted arriving tomorrow?

198 replies

oldstudentmum · 07/11/2022 17:21

Not a teacher btw. Is this the norm as schools that kids have attended all got longer notice and we were sent forms to fill out for inspector. Any thoughts 💭

OP posts:
thebellagio · 07/11/2022 17:46

Our school had the Ofsted inspectors in the week that the schools closed in March 2020, literally the day that Ireland announced that they were closing their schools and it was glaringly obvious to EVERYONE that the schools would be shutting that week. I can’t even begin to imagine the stress that our school were under that week!!!

I remember emailing my clients on the Monday predicting that they would announce a schools closure on the weds to take effect from the Friday…

hunnymonsta · 07/11/2022 17:59

The Head gets a phonecall around lunchtime the day before. It's not just a quick call either, but a no-notice grilling about the school, covering lots of different topics. If they're not available, another member of SLT has to take it. Our school has a crib sheet on standby next to the phone in the HT's office!

Beebumble2 · 07/11/2022 18:09

Be kind to all the staff who probably won’t sleep tonight, even if they’re well prepared.

DaenerysTarragon · 07/11/2022 18:15

MrsDThomas · 07/11/2022 17:30

they do get a tip off. I’ve worked in a primary school and the head teacher said “im sure were due for an inspection”. 2 weeks later…. They came. Too obvious. The tidying up, meetings after school for those 2 weeks, policies checked and checked.,,

This isn't true. For at least 10 years that I've been involved in governance nobody has ever known that they will be getting the call within 2 weeks.
Your headteacher made a lucky guess.
We know we are "in the window" because of when the last inspection was, the grading and the type of inspection it was. However at the moment it's a really big window.

I'm a governor and we've been due an inspection since early this year.
For years schools have only been told the inspectors are coming in by phone, before 12.30 on the day before. In some circumstances, for example if there is a significant safeguarding concern, the inspectors can do a no-notice inspection and just arrive on the morning.

It's common for schools to panic and ask parents to fill in Parent View when they get notice of inspection. Better late than never maybe. :-)

Mummapenguin20 · 07/11/2022 18:17

I actually had this today. I’m putting it down to the last one being inadequate that we got such short notice this time

DaenerysTarragon · 07/11/2022 18:18

They don't even have to give 15 minutes notice of a "no-notice" inspection. I was working with a school where there were all sorts of problems. The inspectors rolled up about 8.30, parked their cars and announced themselves to the office staff at reception.
At which point the office staff stuffed up and didn't register them in properly... which really didn't help. The school was closed before lunchtime.

Shinyandnew1 · 07/11/2022 18:20

MrsDThomas · 07/11/2022 17:30

they do get a tip off. I’ve worked in a primary school and the head teacher said “im sure were due for an inspection”. 2 weeks later…. They came. Too obvious. The tidying up, meetings after school for those 2 weeks, policies checked and checked.,,

No, they don’t.

The head can hazard a guess that because they were last done x terms before, it might be this term, but that’s it. To suggest there is a tip off is just untrue.

notdaddycool · 07/11/2022 18:20

They used to get much longer and for a week or so the school went crazy and transformed into something it wasn't really. Lesson plans would be rewritten in loads more detail. On balance, this is the best way.

Teapleasebobb · 07/11/2022 18:22

Yep, happened to us last month

MrsDThomas · 07/11/2022 18:23

You’re wrong. Staff working in schools and for ofstead (or local equivalent) talk to each other. I know that.

ListenLinda · 07/11/2022 18:24

My DD school is over due an inspection by a year (they converted to an Academy in 2018) but just seen on the website they have been to a school in the local area in October.

School are expecting it any day.

ArticSaviour · 07/11/2022 18:24

No-one gets a tip off.

No-one gets more than a half day's notice.

There is no pattern to the 'in the area' link

As I keep reminding my colleagues, who are desperate to predict our next visit, even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day. Any lucky guesses are just that - lucky

ArticSaviour · 07/11/2022 18:25

MrsDThomas · 07/11/2022 18:23

You’re wrong. Staff working in schools and for ofstead (or local equivalent) talk to each other. I know that.

Anyone working for OfSTED who told a school when they were due would be sacked.

ThingsIhavelearnt · 07/11/2022 18:26

Yes normal

SparklyFoot · 07/11/2022 18:26

I think the forms you've had before are sent out during the inspection and reviewed for the report, but after the inspectors' visit.

TheFallenMadonna · 07/11/2022 18:26

It's been half a day's notice since 2012. No tip offs.

Iamnotthe1 · 07/11/2022 18:27

Ofsted give half-a-day's notice regardless of the school's previous rating. That half a day is then taken up with a call involving the headteacher and, ideally, other members of SLT.

SIAMS (the additional inspection that CofE and Methodist schools get) give notice in September that an inspection will happen at some point that academic year but don't say exactly when until closer to the time.

The locality thing with Ofsted is just rumour. There are regional teams within Ofsted so they are relatively active across most areas most of the time. You can, however, predict a rough window based upon when your last inspection date was. We knew that we were likely to be visited at some point in the latter third of last academic year or first half of this academic year, based on when we became "due" and adjusted for the pandemic.

YellowTreeHouse · 07/11/2022 18:27

It would hardly be an accurate visit if they knew well in advance now would it.

neverbeenskiing · 07/11/2022 18:29

they do get a tip off. I’ve worked in a primary school and the head teacher said “im sure were due for an inspection”. 2 weeks later…. They came. Too obvious. The tidying up, meetings after school for those 2 weeks, policies checked and checked.,,

Absolute rubbish.

AtomicBlondeRose · 07/11/2022 18:32

No tip offs! Anyone getting it right is using a combination of luck and judgement. Trust me, if heads got tipped off it would become glaringly obvious to the staff at least that they had been, and I’ve never seen anything that suggested anyone knew in advance (in fact sometimes the timing has been terrible eg senior staff accompanying students on a residential).

Iamnotthe1 · 07/11/2022 18:32

MrsDThomas · 07/11/2022 18:23

You’re wrong. Staff working in schools and for ofstead (or local equivalent) talk to each other. I know that.

The only inspectors that know when specific schools are having inspections are the inspectors looking at your school. They are notified via an electronic system 2 weeks in advance and begin their investigation of your data, website and social media in order to prepare.

The only reason any inspector would tell a school that they were coming is if they had a connection to that school. However, if a connection exists between the inspector and the school then the inspector needs to declare it and remove themselves from the inspection. If they fail to do so, the school must during the phonecall.

TheFallenMadonna · 07/11/2022 18:36

I did have a dream one night that we got the call, and then the next day we did. But I don't think that counts.

roobearbaby · 07/11/2022 18:45

I work in education in a local authority and this sounds completely normal

TheHauntedPencilCase · 07/11/2022 18:49

Completely normal, I've been through 2 and pre covid you could guesstimate the window but our recent one was really delayed. Other schools had their inspections around the same time as us and started getting reinspected so we assumed ours was coming up but there's no prior knowledge.

upfucked · 07/11/2022 18:51

MrsDThomas · 07/11/2022 17:30

they do get a tip off. I’ve worked in a primary school and the head teacher said “im sure were due for an inspection”. 2 weeks later…. They came. Too obvious. The tidying up, meetings after school for those 2 weeks, policies checked and checked.,,

No they don’t. School will be aware that they are due or over due an inspection but post covid many school are in this situation.