For those of us who teach phonics, the DfE have published a report covering key findings and noting comments from teachers.

It is worth looking at, especially if  you have an interview coming up soon. In particular, you might be interested to see that most schools appear to be using other strategies alongside phonics and ‘more often than not’ it is the Letters and Sounds programme that is in place.

Here is the link to DfE Phonics screening check evaluation

Have a browse through it to

• be aware of the latest developments
• have clear evidence
• be in a very strong position to develop your own arguments

SMSC is within a school’s  culture.

Consider the points below and I think you will have very little problem in thinking of ideas. Good to see creativity, enjoyment and curiosity being mentioned.

Have a look at:   http://www.smsc.org.uk/

---

SMSC: what inspectors are looking for

The 2012 Ofsted handbook school (p27) states: An ‘outstanding’ school: “The school’s thoughtful and wide-ranging promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development enables them to thrive in a supportive, highly cohesive learning community.” Where pupils:

• are reflective about beliefs, values and more profound aspects of human experience, using their imagination and creativity, and developing curiosity in their learning
• develop and apply an understanding of right and wrong in their school life and life outside school
• take part in a range of activities requiring social skills
• develop awareness of and respect for diversity in relation to, for example, gender, race, religion and belief, culture, sexual orientation and disability
• gain a well-informed understanding of the options and challenges facing them as they move through the school and on to the next stage of their education and training
• develop an appreciation of theatre, music, art and literature
• develop the skills and attitudes to enable them to participate fully and positively in democratic modern Britain”

An ‘Inadequate’ school (p28) is likely to one where

• “…there are serious weaknesses in the overall promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.”“Evidence of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development can be found, for example, where pupils:

---

  Ofsted Subsidiary Guidance April 2013 update (p25)/ April 2014 update (p37 onwards)   Inspectors advised to ‘ Look for evidence in…’

… lesson observations of different subjects like RE, art and music.

Discussion with pupils and staff will provide an important insight into how well SMSC is planned as part of the curriculum in other subjects [and] … should investigate whether there is a coherent approach to the promotion of SMSC through activities such as tutorials, citizenship programmes and discussions with pupils about their work

Defining SPIRITUAL development

124. Pupils’ spiritual development is shown by their:

• beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life and their interest in and respect for different people’s feelings and values
• sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them, including the intangible
• use of imagination and creativity in their learning
• willingness to reflect on their experiences

  Defining MORAL development 125. Pupils’ moral development is shown by their:

• ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and their readiness to apply this understanding in their own lives
• understanding of the consequences of their actions
• interest in investigating, and offering reasoned views about, moral and ethical issues

  Defining SOCIAL development 126. Pupils’ social development is shown by their:

• use of a range of social skills in different contexts, including working and socialising with pupils from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds
• willingness to participate in a variety of social settings, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively
• interest in, and understanding of, the way communities and societies function at a variety of levels.

Defining CULTURAL development 127. Pupils’ cultural development is shown by their:

• understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage
• willingness to participate in, and respond to, for example, artistic, musical, sporting, mathematical, technological, scientific and cultural opportunities
• interest in exploring, understanding of, and respect for cultural diversity and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity, as shown by their attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities.

A lot of this goes on in classrooms every day. Don’t see it as a diversion, but as everyday practice. Always worth being able to identify where SMSC examples are… if someone asks!

If you scroll down the previous post, you will see comments from Mike Cladingbowl (National director, Ofsted) setting out points that he admits ‘need working on’.

Have a look at this short video

 

1) What do inspections look like?

Inspections driven by the philosophy:An increased emphasis on:

“ An ‘acceptable’ standard of education is defined as a ‘good’ standard of education.”

• Improving schools that are not yet good
• Progress of pupils especially those that are disadvantaged
• The use of the Pupil Premium to raise achievement
• Reading, writing and mathematics
• The impact of school leadership on improving teaching and achievement
• Governance 

2) Four Key Judgements

“Only a good standard of education is good enough.”

• Achievement
• Quality of teaching
• Behaviour and safety
• Leadership and management

Inspectors must also consider

• SMSC
• Provision or needs of pupils especially SEND

 

3) Increased focus on how pupils compare with national statistics and

 

• Make expected progress

• Make more than expected progress

 

With an emphasis on

• English and maths, reading and writing
• Closing the gap in attainment and progress
• Pupil Premium
• Disabled
• SEN

4) Organisation

 

Half day notice

Schools contacted after midday on the working day before the inspection except for ‘no notice’ behaviour focus visits

(always a 2 day inspection, so no call on a Thursday or Friday and no inspections on a Monday)

If HT unavailable, then next most senior member of staff

Once confirmed, then confirmation sent to school by email

 

 

Lead inspector will prepare by getting information from

• Previous inspection report
• Monitoring letters
• RAISEonline
• Qualifying complaints
• School website
• Parent View
• Past surveys carried out by the school
• Correspondence
• Phone calls

 To make sure you have a good idea of the expectations, have a look at the descriptors  in the Handbook. 

 

5) Here are the components of ‘Outstanding Teaching’, the part that we are usually most concerned about. By picking out the highlighted words and phrases, you can get the flavour.

•  

1. Teaching and Learning

Outstanding (1)

• [teaching in]… All key stages and most subjects is outstanding and never less than consistently good. As a result, almost all pupils are making rapid and sustained progress.
• All teachers have consistently high expectations of all pupils.
• Teachers systematically and effectively check pupils’ understanding throughout lessons, anticipating where they may need to intervene and doing so with notable impact on the quality of learning.
• Reading, writing, communication and mathematics is highly effective and cohesively planned and implemented across the curriculum.
• High levels of engagement and commitment to learning across the whole school.
• Consistently high quality marking and constructive feedback from teachers ensure that pupils make rapid gains.

• Teachers use well-judged and often inspirational teaching strategies, including setting appropriate homework that, together with sharply focused and timely support and intervention, match individual needs accurately. Consequently, pupils learn exceptionally well across the curriculum.

 

• It is clear to see that whole school excellence is needed. There can be no weak areas for an ‘outstanding’ judgement to be made.

6) Behaviour and Safety

Outstanding (1)

Phrases to note

• attitudes to learning are exemplary
• unreservedly positive
• behaviour outside lessons is almost always impeccable
• bullying in all its forms is rare
• behaviour management by all staff makes a strong contribution
• all groups of pupils feel safe at school

 

 

 

• Recent updates

 

There is plenty of discussion around this:

Subsidiary Guidance. January 2014

 

64.Inspectors must not give the impression that Ofsted favours a particular teaching style… For example, they should not criticise teacher talk for being overlong or bemoan a lack of opportunity for different activities in lessons unless there is unequivocal evidence that this is slowing learning over time. It is unrealistic, too, for inspectors to necessarily expect that all work in all lessons is always matched to the specific needs of each individual. Inspectors should not expect to see ‘independent learning’ in all lessons and should not make the assumption that this is always necessary or desirable. On occasions, too, pupils are rightly passive rather than active recipients of learning. Inspectors should not criticise ‘passivity’ as a matter of course and certainly not unless it is evidently stopping pupils from learning new knowledge or gaining skills and understanding.

 

  

65.When in lessons, inspectors should also remember that they are gathering evidence about a variety of aspects of provision and outcomes. Inspectors are not simply observing the features of the lesson but they are gathering evidence about a range of issues through observation in a lesson. Inspectors should not focus on the lesson structure at the expense of its content or the wide range of other evidence about how well children are learning in the school. 

 

And this:

‘Why do Ofsted inspectors observe individual lessons and how do they evaluate teaching in schools?’  Feb 2014, No.140050

• Inspectors should not give an overall grade for the lesson and nor should teachers expect one.

• If asked, inspectors will provide feedback to individuals on what they have observed, including the evidence they have gathered about teaching.

• They can share the grade for the evidence gathered about teaching, or other aspects, with an individual teacher. In most instances, it should include evidence about what is routine rather than one-off.Too often, it seems to me, inspectors’ visits to lessons are confused with the ones carried out by headteachers whose purpose may be to identify professional development needs or performance management. This is particularly the case with newly qualified teachers, where inspectors and course tutors or mentors are not gathering evidence for the same purpose. Inspectors need to know what the quality of teaching is like across a whole school, and how teachers are supported.Mike Cladingbowl. Director of Schools. Ofsted. 

 

 

 

 

•