Ofsted as a teacher/subject lead

[bohomoon]

Absolutely dreading the Big O coming to our school. Very long overdue and we are currently RI. I have now taken on a subject lead too and am feeling really anxious. Not getting much help from SLT at all. Very disorganized and last minute.

Any tips on what to do on my part?

@Iamnotthe1
We have it every half-term! Target tracker
Because we are a RI school, SLT are whipping the backs of staff.

Why not The Staffroom?

Measuring won't make the children improve unless there is a decent strategy. As Iam says the 'why this and why now'. As a parent I'd expect an overall 'story arc' from yR to y6 that shows how English skills are developed. (And similar for other areas of the curriculum.)

No because their judgement is not informed from your answer. They may decide that they believe workload is too heavy for staff, whether it is or not, or a singular member of staff might happen to casually suggest a high workload during interviews. If so, they will use your answer to judge leadership instead and say that the leadership of the school is unaware of the workload burdens that staff face because your answer claimed it wasn't a problem.

Most decisions about grading are made before the team arrive in the weeks they get to review the website, SEF, SIP, policies, data, etc. The inspection is there to find the reasons to confirm the already existing perceptions.

You say you're a four form entry but then described phases (eyfs, ks1, lks2 and uks2).

4 form entry means 4 classes per year group. If that is the case in your school - I'm assuming there is another English subject lead to work alongside?

@Iamnotthe1 I would be happy to meet, in fact over the moon to. But the other English leads are just getting on with stuff. I approached the UKS2 lead he has invigilated in the past, was a phase leader in his old school and is very la de da about himself and hence not approachable.

I asked if we should meet up and talk about the needs of the old Year 4's now in Year 5. He just said, 'I'll check Target Tracker.' He seems to want all the glory. Not a team player.

I will brush up on phonics and reading. I am looking through long-term plans to understand hand overs from Year 2 to 3, 3 to 4 etc.

@Pinkflipflop85 yes, exactly there are 4 of us. I've only met them once for a mock Ofsted questioning before we broke up. Never got the feedback from that meeting, still waiting for it.

There needs to be regular meetings and a single unified approach, even if the head has to step in and make sure it happens.

You will get a deep dive into reading, which you will all have to contribute to, and then might have one into writing too. If you aren't all singing from the same hymn sheet, and able to back that up with examples from across school, then the only conclusion would be that the leadership structure is leading to a lack of consistency and no clear single curriculum plan. However, from what you're saying, that's exactly what's happening and that's a sucky position to be in for you.

@Iamnotthe1 absolutely agree with you. Thank you so much

Your reading scheme must match and support your phonics teaching.
I’m a subject lead for a different core subject. It’s a small school so it’s just me for the whole school! I’m expected to know about my subject from eyfs through to year 6.
We’ve been told we must show intent, implementation and impact. What are we trying to achieve, how is it being delivered and what difference does it make.
Who was doing the job before you? Have they left? You really need to pin down the other subject leads.

You really need to pin down the other subject leads

And not just other English leads. You need to think cross-curricularly too: how does the English curriculum you've designed support other subjects' curriculums? (For example, before they need to write reports in Science, have you taught them how in English?).