Bringing in experienced teacher for Ofsted inspection day??

[DilemmaTime]

Does this sound ok to you? My dd's primary is having their Ofsted inspection tomorrow and I've been told that her regular class teacher won't be teaching them. Instead they're bringing in an experienced teacher from another school in their group of schools, just for the day. Technically, I guess he works for the same company but he isn't a teacher from that school (in fact he's a head atbthe other school). It doesn't sound right to me, in fact it sounds deceptive and I don't like it (one of many things I don't like about this school lately).

[Redlocks30]

Mummy time-where have you got the idea that this school has been given 24 hours? As far as I can see, they were told yesterday that Ofsted would be in today?

[mummytime]

" My dd's primary is having their Ofsted inspection tomorrow and I've been told that her regular class teacher won't be teaching them"
That sounds as if they knew yesterday that Ofsted would be in tomorrow. If Ofsted are in today and tomorrow, then the school have no knowledge of which lessons will be inspected each day. So the OP is worried about nothing, as Ofsted could inspect the class with the normal teacher today.

[DilemmaTime]

No, I wrote that yesterday in reference to today :)

[DilemmaTime]

Ofsted and experienced teacher are both in today. Hope I'm making snse! Sorry!

[DilemmaTime]

Good news about the questionnaire being online, mummytime, far easier that way, and no need to worry about the school seeing it.

Fair point, hels71, and probably what the explanation will be if Ofsted ask? I'm going on how it is being talked about by staff off the record, and that is no surprise given the low morale. Apparently, the head from the other school got the call yesterday and then prepped a special lesson for today.

[DeWe]

Well it could be that the teacher was always going to be absence and this teacher had agreed to cover it already. And what they've done is try and get the children engaged/excited by telling them "Mr X is coming in, aren't you lucky... he's got a special lesson for you..."

My dc are often told the day before that they will have a supply and who it will be.

But the fact that he's a head elsewhere looks very suspicious, unless he's coming back to this school to teach next year.

[DilemmaTime]

No, he isn't. He's leaving the school, the headship, and the federation. One of the many who have had enough.

It is possible that it was always going to be this arrangement. Maybe there is just too much suspicion in there. Not a great advertisement for a group of academies.

Not sure now whether to mention it.

[schooldidi]

I'd still mention it. Just put it on the questionnaire online. Ofsted also talk to the kids though, so surely one of them will say something about their normal teacher to an inspector.

[warwick1]

This isn't uncommon. In some academies its part of the support system that is in place. Several senior teachers from other academies in the group are moved in especially for Ofsted. Academies which even then only just managed to escape going into special measures. Under the new Ofsted they are classed as 'Requiring improvement'. Taking badly behaved students out of school for 'visits', is another ploy often used.

12 hours is 12 working hours, really 24 hours. Plenty of time to implement pre-arranged Ofsted procedures.

Academy chain companies are well organised for Ofsted.

[AChickenCalledKorma]

I'd mention it. If there is a perfectly innocent explanation, they can offer it. If not, Ofsted should know.

Am saying this on behalf of many, many schools like my own children's where very hard-working, honest teachers have sweated blood to jump through Ofsted's hoops without pulling stunts like this.

[EvilTwins]

How do you know it's a "ploy"
FFS? If the normal teacher had a planned absence it makes far more sense to use an experienced colleague than call a supply agency.

[aroomofherown]

I've heard of this sort of thing. Especially the kids on trips or some such just to get them out. Problem is, Ofsted are even more keen than ever to talk to the kids, asking questions like "Is this what you normally do in lessons?" I which case the kids will most probably point out that this was not their normal teacher.

[SallyBear]

There is no where on the online form to put in your comments. It's a generic form that they use for ALL schools including Special Schools so some questions are irrelevant. I would email the people doing the inspection, (their address will be in the letter you were given by the school) if you are unhappy about this switch of teachers. I wonder if it was a tactical thing because maybe the class teacher cannot cope with an inspection and the school are trying to save face. Sounds very off to me.

[warwick1]

aroomofherown

Covering staff who are taking selected students out on visits by supply staff is accepted by Ofsted.

The fact that staff taking students out of school on visit are the weak ones to be covered by senior staff from another member of the group acting as supply staff is accepted by Ofsted. After all some chain groups setup their own companies to supply 'cover staff', it's big business. It's very easy with the school computerised management systems (databases)' to make every thing looked planned.

[Movingtimes]

The school I teach in is currently undergoing Ofsted. We got the call at lunchtime yesterday. They arrived at 8am this morning. Really, there's no time to ship any kids out for the sake of keeping up appearances even if we wanted to. It is by no means 24 hours.

[warwick1]

movingtime
Does your school or academy, or academy group run their own mini buses with drivers.

Is there a another school which is a member of the academy group within a reasonable driving distance.

20 hours is nearly 24 hours.

Like I said academy groups have an advantage. Mr Gove is very supportive of academy chains!!!

[Hulababy]

We also only got the call at noon one day, and then in at 8am the next. No time for major shuffles to go that's for sure. Def no hiding of children either!

OFSTED will be told the name of any staff and their role, especially if they are "seen" by the inspection team. We did have two supply teachers in on the day due to illness. the staff were already off the day before and already knew not in the next days either. But these were supply staff we always use, and already expected to be there. OFSTED needed to be told who they were and their role in school, and who they were covering/why.

[Movingtimes]

Warwick. No we are not an academy group and we don't have minibus drivers. But at our school an offsite trip would take much longer than 20 hours to arrange. And you don't actually have 20 hours. You have three up until the end of the school day when you would need to have notified parents of any trip. But I am talking about ordinary schools. What academy chains may choose to do I wouldn't know.

[Hulababy]

Not sure how the shipping out would work in many schools, not with such short notice.

There would need to be the paper trail - letters home to parents, reply slips and permission received and recorded, sufficient staffing arranged, risk assessment completed.... Maybe if have own transport vaguely possible, but still not an easy one with only 2-3 hours of the afternoon to sort it in. The trip would also have to be part of the lesson planning too. And the inspectors TALK to the children A LOT and about their thoughts and feelings about school and how it works- you can guarantee a child would grass them up "It's not fair, Mr x has taken ..... on a trip today but not us. Why do they get to go when they are always the naughty ones...." etc.

[CrystalSinger]

The online form has nowhere to put comments.

[warwick1]

yes ordinary schools would find it difficult to organise hulababy.

But academy chains have cluster groups of academies where students and staff regularly move between as part of the 'Support system' or in the case of students for special coaching or activities. Secondary students are often used in primary schools to support students, primary students often visit secondary schools for activities

[shameonyou]

What about removal from the roll? Isn't that just a click of a button to delete the child from the register? That must be easy enough for HT's to do if they wanted to or is it not feasible?

[EvilTwins]

Warwick, that's irrelevant. I teach in an academy which is part of a chain. I still can't take students out without seeking parental permission, not even to the primary school (part of the same chain) which is less than 10 minutes' walk away.

[Hulababy]

I don't think a HT can just remove a child from the roll like that. It would need to come from the LEA. And if a school had a waiting list, the minute a child was removed from the roll, that place can be made available to the child top of the list - even the very same day.

[breatheslowly]

If this is really the case then it is very concerning. If a teacher isn't deemed sufficient to face an inspection (and I mean get a grade other than unsatisfactory) then they shouldn't be teaching your child.