Does the new Ofsted framework ‘allow’ new opportunities?
The updated Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit has been seen by many as more of the same.
So much will depend on how it comes to be interpreted when put into practice so now seems like a good time to share some thoughts on where we see space for progressive and positive interpretation. Across multiple evaluation areas - Curriculum and teaching, Achievement, and Personal development and well-being - the framework repeatedly highlights the goal of providing pupils with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to "achieve and thrive in later life".
This reinforces UN Sustainable Development Goals that recognise the value of ‘equitable and quality lifelong learning opportunities for all’ (Goal 4), as well as Inner Development Goals, both of which are reflected in national policy objectives about the value of investing in learning across our lifetimes. 👉🏼 A goal that sits at the heart of Learning Allowed’s LEARN 2050 programme.
As such the new framework can:
Encourage the learning journey of all pupils
The framework explicitly states that the curriculum must be "designed to give all learners... the knowledge they need to achieve and thrive in later life".
‘Thrive’ must be about all children understanding their potential as learners, not just those who hit key performance indicators (like English/Maths attainment at the end of Year 11 or end-of-Key-Stage expectations), with the framework making space for schools to demonstrate how they are actively supporting and enabling the progress of learners who might sit outside of metrics that reflect what is expected of the ‘average’ learner.
Recognise skills that go beyond subject content
While some may initially interpret the framework in terms of narrow subject content, the inspection criteria broaden this significantly. "Personal development and well-being" emphasises developing confidence, resilience, and knowledge to maintain mental wellbeing and to develop character traits, including to "reflect wisely, learn eagerly, behave with integrity and cooperate consistently well with others".
The focus on these wider skill sets are not new, but there is a chance here for schools to emphasise the ways in which they seek to enable this in their learners. Such a focus would encourage schools to give more time to the ‘how’ of learning.
Enabling voice through a focus on inclusion
A core, repeated feature across all evaluation areas is the need to support disadvantaged pupils and those with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). This is reinforced by making inclusion a standalone evaluation area.
The target for schools encourages efforts to make a "sustained difference to pupils' opportunities and experiences". If this is to be effective then it demands that schools create the space for genuine conversations between learners, educators and parents. It is in these spaces, where the voice of each is valued and respected, that relationships can be created, building the trust and understanding that allows effective inclusion.
Valuing responsive, adaptive methods to support learner engagement
The framework supports a greater focus on the need for flexibility in responding to and supporting the individual learning journeys of pupils by demanding that adaptations to the curriculum or teaching are "well targeted and effective in reducing barriers" and "focus on pupils' long-term success rather than short-term fixes".
This clearly provides an opportunity for schools to demonstrate the level of creativity they employ to support and enable the differing and individual nature of each learner's journey.
Expectations of the new Ofsted framework
The voice of learners in schools is muted. Using the new Ofsted framework to not only increase the value attached to learner voice but for this to be merely the starting point for conversations alongside educators that deepen inclusion would create significant benefits. If the current challenges schools face in relation to SEND is to be effectively responded to, it demands learners and educators coming together through a shared vision for their learning community.
Whether the new framework will be used to broaden a vision for learning and the learner is unclear. However, there are opportunities here for progressive and positive steps that would support that stated ambition of using our schools to allow children to ‘thrive’ throughout their lives.
The Learning Allowed Approach
The Learning Allowed approach notes the complexities of learning, the ups and downs it involves.
It is in how we are able to manage that challenge that the space to develop our learning skills is enriched. Embracing this in schools, and making it a focus for inspection offers a real opportunity to value our learning vulnerabilities as we understand the resilience needed for a lifetime of learning.
It moves learning from a focus on singular ‘known goals’ and prepares us with the capabilities to manage varied and ‘unknown challenges’ in the classroom and beyond - both whilst we are at school and after. Finding ways to recognise the role schools play as catalysts and enablers of children as ‘learners for life’ - would be incredibly powerful.
Find out more about our LEARN 2050 programmes and how these are being used to drive a progressive mindset that maximises possible opportunities to advance learner and educator capabilities in classrooms, universities and communities ➡️ get in touch!
