Ofsted’s annual report for 2016/17 was published on Wednesday 13 December. This is the first annual report since Amanda Spielman took the helm as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) in February this year.
The report sets out the key themes that have arisen from inspections over the year. Key findings relating to schools include:
- the majority of schools are performing well: 89% are currently rated ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’
- there is a subsection of schools which have been persistently judged less than ‘good’, with over 700 judged ‘requires improvement’ or ‘satisfactory’ at their last two inspections
- schools in deprived areas are more likely to be judged ‘requires improvement’ though there are examples of schools in challenging circumstances which have turned their performance around
- weak governance was among common features of secondary schools which have persistently underperformed
- too many schools are sacrificing breadth of curriculum in order to prepare pupils for statutory assessments in both primary and secondary phases
The report also highlighted that, despite the government issuing academy orders to every ‘inadequate’ school since April 2016, there are 113 maintained schools that have not converted at least nine months after receiving this judgement.
A summary of common problems in multi-academy trusts (MATs) which have had focused inspections was given. With respect to governance, Ofsted highlighted a lack of clear schemes of delegation, over-dependence on school leaders, a lack of understanding of data, and unclear strategies for use of pupil premium funding.
Read the report in full (external link)