Ofsted January 2012: Leadership and Management

The Ofsted Inspection Framework for 2012 was published on 16th December 2011
NB: A revised version will be in place for September 2012

Watch an Ofsted video on how they will reach a judgement on Leadership and Management  (c 4 minutes)

There are four main aspects to the schedule: Leadership and management, quality of teaching, achievement, and the behaviour and safety of children, plus an overall judgement on the effectiveness of the school.

NB Want to share this with the GB? You can download the contents of the Leadership & Management section of the inspection schedule as a word doc, with references to governors highlighted, here: Quality of leadership and management of the school evaluation schedule 2012 (with references to Governors)

Quality of leadership in and management of the school

Criteria

When evaluating the quality of leadership and management at all levels, including, where relevant, governance, inspectors must consider whether the school’s leadership:

• demonstrates an ambitious vision for the school and high expectations for what every pupil and teacher can achieve, and sets high standards for quality and performance
• improves teaching and learning, including the management of pupils’ behaviour
• provides a broad and balanced curriculum that: meets the needs of all pupils; enables all pupils to achieve their full educational potential and make progress in their learning; and promotes their good behaviour and safety and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
• evaluates the school’s strengths and weaknesses and uses their findings to promote improvement
• improves the school and develops its capacity for sustaining improvement by developing leadership capacity and high professional standards among all staff
• engages with parents and carers in supporting pupils’ achievement, behaviour and safety and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
• ensures that all pupils are safe.

Outline guidance

Inspectors should focus on how effectively leadership and management at all levels enable pupils to overcome specific barriers to learning and promote improvements for all pupils and groups of pupils in the context of the individual school. These are likely to include:

• how relentlessly leaders, managers and the governing body pursue a vision for excellence, for example through:

-       the rigorous implementation of well focused improvement plans

-       the consistent application of policies and procedures

-       the extent to which staff, pupils, parents and carers are engaged by and contribute to realising the vision and ambition of leaders, managers and governors

-       accurate monitoring and evaluation of the school’s performance with a secure understanding of the individual skills and attributes of pupils and staff, and taking account of the views of parents, carers and other stakeholders

• effective strategies for improving teaching, including, where relevant, the teaching of reading and improving behaviour, including:

-       seeking out and modelling best practice

-       monitoring the quality of teaching and learning and acting on its findings

-       developing staff through dialogue, coaching, training, mentoring and support

-       leading a coherent programme of professional development

-       leading curriculum development

-       training, including for example, on child protection

-       using appropriate procedures for tackling underperformance

• ensuring that the curriculum:

-       is broad and balanced and meets the needs, aptitudes and interest of pupils so that it promotes high levels of achievement and good behaviour and promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

-       promotes a successful progression to the pupils’ next stage of education, training or employment

-       at Key Stage 4 is based on academic courses and supplemented, where relevant, by appropriate vocational courses

• strategies and procedures, including the provision of appropriate guidance, to help pupils prepare for life in modern democratic Britain and a global society
• managing performance, including tackling areas of underperformance, particularly any weaknesses in the quality of teaching and the curriculum
• identifying and supporting disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and pupils who have other significant disadvantages so that their progress is maximised
• effective work by the governing body that acts as a critical friend and holds senior leaders to account for all aspects of the school’s performance
• promoting the confidence and engagement of parents and carers in their children’s learning and the development of good behaviour
• working in partnership with other schools, external agencies and the community, including business, to improve the school, extend the curriculum and increase the range and quality of learning opportunities for pupils
• managing safeguarding arrangements to ensure that there is safe recruitment and all pupils are safe, including for example, the effective identification of children in need or at risk of significant harm, including:

-       maintaining the single central record and appropriate arrangements for child protection

-       the rigour with which absence is followed up

-       how well safe practices and a culture of safety are promoted though the curriculum.

Grade descriptors: quality of leadership in and management of the school

Outstanding (1)

The pursuit of excellence in all of the school’s activities is demonstrated by an uncompromising and highly successful drive to strongly improve achievement, or maintain the highest levels of achievement, for all pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, over a sustained period of time. All leaders and managers, including the governing body, are highly ambitious for the school and lead by example. They base their actions on a deep and accurate understanding of the school’s performance and of staff and pupils’ skills and attributes. Key leaders focus relentlessly on improving teaching and learning, resulting in teaching that is likely to be outstanding and at least consistently good. The school’s curriculum: provides highly positive, memorable experiences and rich opportunities for high quality learning; has a very positive impact on all pupils’ behaviour and safety; and contributes very well to pupils’ achievement and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school has highly successful strategies for engaging with parents and carers to the very obvious benefit of pupils, including those who might traditionally find working with the school difficult. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements and give no cause for concern.

Good (2)

Key leaders and managers, including the governing body, consistently communicate high expectations and ambition. They model good practice and demonstrably work to monitor, improve and support teaching, encouraging the enthusiasm of staff and channelling their efforts and skills to good effect. As a result, teaching is improving and is at least satisfactory, with much that is good. Planned actions based on accurate self-evaluation to overcome weaknesses have been concerted and effective. As a result, achievement has improved or consolidated previous good performance. The school’s curriculum provides well organised, imaginative and effective opportunities for learning for all groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, promotes positive behaviour and safety and provides a broad range of experiences that contribute well to the pupils’ achievement and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school usually works well with parents and carers, including those who might traditionally find working with the school difficult, to achieve positive benefits for pupils. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements and give no cause for concern.

Satisfactory (3)

The headteacher and most other key leaders, including the governing body, provide a concerted approach to school improvement. Planned actions by leaders and managers have improved the quality of teaching so that very little is inadequate. Most, but not all, staff and pupils are fully committed to the drive and ambition demonstrated by key leaders. Capacity to improve is demonstrated by a trend of sustained improvement in achievement, behaviour and safety, although a few significant weaknesses remain. Essential systems are embedded sufficiently to enable the school to continue improving and do not depend solely on only one or two senior leaders. The curriculum is generally matched to pupils’ needs, interests and aspirations and provides adequate preparation for the next stage of their lives, whatever their starting points. The school usually works well with parents and carers, although may be less successful in engaging those who might traditionally find working with the school difficult. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements and give no cause for concern.

Inadequate (4)

Leadership and management are likely to be inadequate if any of the following apply.

• Capacity for further improvement is limited because current leaders and managers have been ineffective in securing essential improvements since the last inspection.
• Leaders and managers are not taking effective steps to secure satisfactory and better teaching for all groups of pupils, including  disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.
• The curriculum fails to meet the needs of pupils or particular groups of pupils.
• Despite remedying a few small areas of weakness, perhaps recently, improvements are fragile, too slow or depend on external support.
• The school’s strategies for engaging with parents and carers are weak so that parents and carers are not involved sufficiently in supporting their children’s learning and development.
• The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils do not meet statutory requirements and give serious cause for concern.

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