School given noticed today that ofsted arriving tomorrow?

[oldstudentmum]

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 💭

I’m not sure how it works for schools but if it’s anything like early years, there’s no such thing as “being in the area”. Regions assign inspections on the basis of risk/previous grades/date of last inspection but location is not factored into the decision.

ESTYN is different to OFSTED. A different framework, different (longer) notice periods.

If you did you'd know how to spell ofsted! Schools will know when they're due as depending on the rating they were given on their last inspection they'll be due to be done again in 3/5 years time etc.

Heads do talk to each other so you will know that they are 'in the area' e.g. St Peters down the road had the call yesterday so we might get done next week etc.

No head would ever be so laid back as to say 'I'm sure we're due soon'. 😂

We were last inspected in 2012 and everyone is very jumpy!!

‘they do get a tip off’

nope. They don’t. It’s what makes it so stressful when one is die, but with Covid there’s TONS of schools due and overdue …

If you have observant IT, there can be clues in the hits on particular parts of the website in the week or so immediately prior - Ofsted don't give anybody a heads up.

Where I live its ESTYN.

So why on earth are you trying to tell everyone how it works with 'Ofstead' then?!

Most schools tend to know vaguely that they are due this term, or next etc purely by working out when they were last done, taking into account COVID etc. Especially in our unusual geographic area, if we hear another school nearby is being done there is every chance we will be.

That said, officially yes, only the day before as notice.

My sister is a primary school teacher and one year her school got the call the day before they were taking the entire school to the panto for a Christmas trip!
If I remember correctly they came the day after so they technically got more than a days notice, but I suppose they can’t really inspect the school if no one is there.

Hell no! Oh I have complained to the school but they ignored it. Oh dear ofsted included a link for me to give feedback direct to them so that’s what I’ve now done. Can’t move schools as no spaces elsewhere. So stuck.

You'd be surprised what a school can do in 12 hours to prep for ofted! During the two days of the visit, some schools can be amusingly different and makes you take Ofted ratings with a huge pinch of salt!

When Ofsted are in the area, do they tend to inspect a mix of primary and secondary or just one or the other?

When I was in school (many years ago!) they knew about inspections weeks in advance. We were almost threatened if any of us behaved badly and the problem kids were amazingly absent on the day of inspection

Maybe they should just turn up in the morning....unannounced

Good. They shouldn't get any warning imo.

Definitely no tip offs! If the heads get tip offs then our would not have been at a conference a few hundred miles away the day we got “the call”!

schools do policy checks and “being prepared” things constantly

There's an inspector behind you! Oh no there isn't! Oh bloody hell there is actually...

The problem with turning up unannounced is that they will want to speak to the Head, who is off at a local authority meeting, the phonics lead who is supporting a school down the road, the maths lead who has covid, the safeguarding lead, who has a child protection conference on, the SENCO who is doing a transition review and the school business manager who only works part time. Oh, and the governors are all at work in their own jobs and can't just down tools and turn up!

‘Oh, and the governors are all at work in their own jobs and can't just down tools and turn up!’

depends, an inspection that happens once every 5-8 years or so is probably worth turning up for

depends, an inspection that happens once every 5-8 years or so is probably worth turning up for

Yes, it’s important but.. many of our governors have jobs in London. If Ofsted walk in at 8.30, those governors would have a fully planned day of work ahead of them to extricate themselves from at no notice-cancelling meetings/customers/patients-and then a 2 hour commute back (if the trains are running!) to school.

@Poopoolittlerabbit so if a governor was a surgeon who had a full day of operations scheduled for the day after the phone call how do you suggest they attend a meeting at school

Having just had an Ofsted inspection last week as a chair of governors, I can assure you there was no notice! Like others have said, we knew we were due one this year (actually we were due one last year but they are still catching up from Covid) but had no idea exactly when they’d come. I had absolutely immovable commitments in London for my job and couldn’t meet with them, they spoke to me on the phone in the evening instead.

‘so if a governor was a surgeon who had a full day of operations’. Oh here we go.
I’ve yet to come across a surgeon - governor.

Our senior school had OFSTED a few weeks ago. Governors all made themselves available over one of the two days. No surgeons though… WFH, business owners, one civil servant, an accountant, a marketing guy…

I think you will fully missed the point! Many people cannot rearrange their jobs with no notice, much as they might feel they should. Half a days notice and it may be more possible.

Was that after they were given half a days notice…