In September 2018 Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Ofsted, announced her intention to develop a 2019 Ofsted inspection framework with curriculum as a central focus. The rationale for this, she outlined, was because Ofsted has previously placed “too much weight on test and exam results”.
Ofsted has now published the consultation of its draft framework for the inspection of maintained and academy schools (external link), to take effect from September 2019. Ofsted intended for a single “quality of education” judgement to replace the existing “quality of teaching, learning and assessment” and “outcomes for pupils” categories. The proposals are that inspectors will focus on a provider’s curriculum intent, implementation and impact, and pupil performance will not be considered in isolation but in the context of the school curriculum. The aim is to “de-intensify the inspection focus on performance data and place more emphasis on the substance of education and what matters most to learners and practitioners.” The framework proposals are based on in-depth research carried out by Ofsted. Read more here (external link). The closing date for the consultation is 5 April 2019.