The new Ofsted inspection framework is good news for pupils. The greater emphasis on inclusion, respectful relationships and personal development in its widest sense, should help schools create learning environments where all children have a chance to reach higher and show their potential.
NCB particularly welcomes:
- The focus on the quality of teaching practice rather than desk-based reviews of data;
- A stronger focus on how settings deal with incidences of bullying, a key ask of our Anti-Bullying Alliance;
- The strengthening of the framework as it relates to disabled children and those with special educational needs, and particularly the emphasis on providing an ambitious curriculum for all learners;
- The framework making clear that off-rolling is unacceptable and the clear challenge to schools to eradicate this unjust practice.
New measures on mental health and wellbeing should encourage schools to more fully play their part in promoting the psychological welfare of their pupils. But we encourage Ofsted to go further by embracing the benefits of whole-school approaches to wellbeing and mental health, and supporting the roll-out of proposals in the Government’s 2017 Green Paper.