Ofsted changes - school has just recieved the same result as previous inspection, does this mean in theory it has made improvements?

[educator123]

Our school has just been awarded Good with some outstanding features (mostly behaviour/some teaching)

Does this mean it is actually improved alot on its previous Good?

I've heard that under the new framework this result is hard to achieve?? Is this correct?

Possibly - what does the narrative of the inspection say? What direction do you think the school is going?

Sounds like it's doing pretty well.

General overview was good, all teaching good, some outstanding.
Behaviour etc outstanding.
Self assesment very good.

Can't remember it all but that is what stick outs.

Areas to improve were to stretch more able children and that boys werent as far ahead in writing.

School seems to be doing well from what i know as an parent. Hard to tell though from the outside ;)

They don't publish SAT etc due to low numbers, so don't have a huge amount to go on.

Lol..... our inspection report (Feb) has very similar areas to improve.

Strange that.

Ours wasn't that recent...phew had a momentary panic of outing myself then! ;)

Whilst the report might have had some outstanding bits, it's firmly in the good category. Under the previous regime, one could make reference to outstanding features, that's not the case now.

Saying that, outstanding is bloody impossible to get. 9 % of schools have been graded outstanding since the new criteria introduced in September.

Good covers a huge spectrum, but given the mention of some outstanding areas, the school sounds like a 'very good' good.

I work in an infant school (to Y2). Our report went online yesterday; inspection was in February. We saw the report a week or so ago and they are so obviously cut and paste jobs, using statement banks. The reports are also far shorter than they were before, and imo a lot less personal as a result.

Our result was Good, with Outstanding features (2 good, 2 outstanding). The report is very very positive. The only target really is to have more outstanding lessons, particularly for when boys are working independently on tasks.

We had previously been Satisfactory in what felt like a dreadful inspection a few years ago; was a horrible experience and staff knew from day 1 which way it was going. We have made a lot of changes, though the core is the same - but this inspection just went so much better. The inspectors listened, the didn't just turn up and watch a lesson - they listened to what went on, they talked to teachers and TAs, and children, they read planning and they looked at a lot of books as well as all of the policy documents. They did look at results, but much more than this.

So what have they changed under the new system to make it harder to get an outstanding!?

How much focus is on results to achieve an outstanding?

The report made reference to particular lesson being outstanding but the only other outstanding 'graded' area was the behaviour section.

Another local school (report from2011) was outstanding (1s) is all graded sections but in the write up made reference to some teaching being satifactory

You can no longer get outstanding if you have satisfactory teaching or learning.

From the framework...www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/framework-for-school-inspection

Under this framework:
 schools cannot be judged as ?outstanding? for overall effectiveness unless they have ?outstanding? teaching

Sorry educator didn't mean to scare you!
Just found quite a few 'good' ofsteds recently with those areas to improve!
As hula says, lots of cut and paste going on!
I really didn't like the blandness of the report - no or little mention of our USPs - could have been any school in England. A lot of the report was obviously based on the SEF.

I don't like how they have scrubed round the letter from the inspector at the end of the report!

Although he did say it was a gem of a school, where he would be more than happy to send his child :)

educator123:

I think you need to look at what they were rating as outstanding - check the report thoroughly - not just numbers, but read the text (looking for faint praise).

Our school was good with only behaviour as outstanding, but reading the report it's all 'children credit to the school and their teachers', etc... Many doubters of the school (myself included) feel we send good kids there and they become drop outs.

They were scathing on maths - needed major improvement and they will be back to inspect in a year's time. (which I totally agreed with).

They were also open about highly variable quality of teaching.

This was new style OFSTED but before the no notice inspection - so they had 3 days to prepare lessons/ school for day of inspection; and to be honest the school changed beyond all recognition since the letter informing the school they would be inspected in the forseeable future arrived the previous spring. Suddenly we had a virtual learning environment set up, our website was improved, school policies were posted on the web (many news to us parents) and lord almighty, they actually gave regular homeworks. Parent consultation meetings and surveys started to spring up.

The lessons taught for inspectors were completely different from normal and my DD2 keeps saying she wishes her teachers would go back to teaching the way they did the week those people visited - those lessons were really good and we got to do more interesting work (she's top table in most things) and different work from the other pupils.

POST OFSTED: no homework and no differentiation. who's to know? and what can parents do really?

I know what you mean, it isn't the best system and IMO should be much more regular.

Teaching was described as consistently good and sometimes outstanding. Lessons were interesting and inspiring.

Teacher pupil relationship were very good know pupils well and lessons were tailor made to meet individuals needs.
And very precise documentation on every child readily available to all teachers to enable them to fully assess what each child needs.

But opportunities were sometimes missed to quickly pick up mistakes to push children forward and there was sometimes more needed for more able children.

They are somethings that spring to mind without re reading!!

Another school we are looking at has an amazing outstanding report, 'inspiring and innovate curriculum rarely seen in primary schools' springs to mind but that report was done in 2011.

Regularly

Hi educator123

I can only speak for our area but a few schools had fantastic OFSTEDS in late 2010/ early 2011, which had a few of us quite surprised (as locally these weren't great schools - not awful, but not great). Some have been reinspected recently (quite early it seems to me) and have gone from outstanding to in need of improvement in very few years with no major staff changes & same heads. Not sure if this is OFSTED correcting over-generous results or not?