Just A Little Something – Episode 6: Part 1
This is a series which covers some of the things that leaders of independent schools sometimes overlook, omit, misunderstand, or fail to address when it comes to meeting the all-important Independent School Standards. The episodes will not cover the standards in any sort of order so special requests are welcome – feel free to get in touch and let me know which standards you’d like me to cover.
Before we begin: a bit of advice
Please find time to read The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (Make sure that you are looking at the “latest available (revised)”version. The date of the last revision was 19 August 2024
And to borrow the DfE’s disclaimer from the latter document what I share with you here: is not purported to be definitive guidance on the meaning of the standards themselves, only a court can give that.
In episode 3 we looked at the standards that most schools fail to meet. We identified which parts, which standards, which paragraphs and sub-paragraphs most schools struggled with. We talked about what these parts, standards, paragraphs and sub-paragraphs covered. I encouraged you to check if your school was meeting these standards and to find out why other schools were failing to meet those standards. That’s what I would like to continue talking about today – why a large proportion of schools are failing to meet standards 34, 2, 3 and 7. The standard that most schools fail to meet - 34 has already been covered in great detail in episode 2 so now we move onto the next one, standard 2 – specifically sub- paragraph 2 (1)(a). I will split this episode into 3 parts otherwise it would be too long. The first part will cover what sub- paragraph 2 (1) (a) is all about. In the second part I’ll share examples from my experience of what schools overlook, omit, misunderstand, or fail to address when it comes to meeting this sub-paragraph. In the final part I’ll share examples from Ofsted inspection reports – statements which provide the reason why sub-paragraph 2 (1) (a) is not being met.
Let’s dive in, sub-paragraph 2(1)(a) requires proprietors to draw up 3 sets of documents and implement them effectively: a curriculum policy supported by appropriate curriculum plans, schemes of work.
Curriculum policy - Guidance says that it should include the school’s overall approach to its curriculum (ie the subjects it teaches) Obviously it will include a lot more but this specifically needs to be included.
Curriculum plans – Guidance says that these are proposals for how the written policy on curriculum will be implemented . In other words, an overview of what pupils will learn in every subject in every year group for which the school caters. Now I know that in many independent schools pupils are not taught in their academic year groups due to many factors including:
small cohorts
the fact that pupils are referred to schools at different points throughout the year
that pupils are rarely referred at the beginning of an educational phase
that pupils are often working at levels below what is expected for their age
that their needs and behaviours make it necessary to put some pupils together and keep others apart
The fact that pupils are not grouped by academic year should not get in the way of meeting the requirement to produce curriculum plans. However pupils are grouped, there should be plans to show what each group (not necessarily academic year group) will cover in each subject for the duration of their stay at the school.
Some schools draw up “pathways” that pupils of different ability and need will follow at the school. In this case, for each “pathway” there should be curriculum plans giving an overview of what pupils will learn in each subject for the duration of their stay at the school.
These plans can be in any format – annual long-term plans for each subject, progression plans/maps for each subject, learner journeys for each subject, whole school spreadsheets covering every subject – as long as it is clear what pupils are expected to learn in each subject in each year group/ group/ pathway for the duration of their stay at the school. Just to be clear – when I say duration of stay here, I mean the number of years the school is registered to provide education e.g 5 years if the school is registered as an 11 – 16. I say this because pupils average length of stay at a school may be shorter due to referrals coming in towards the end of Key Stage 4 for example. Anyway, moving on.
Schemes of work - Guidance says that these are detailed specifications for each subject of what is to be taught throughout the year for each year group taking that subject.
Schemes of work can be compiled or purchased by the school. When using commercially produced schemes of work, obviously customisation is important to ensure that they are suited to the capability and needs of your pupils. Again here, the fact that pupils are not always grouped by academic year may come up but again this should not get in the way of meeting this requirement.
Sub-paragraph 2 (1)(a) also requires proprietors to ensure that the curriculum and its appropriate supporting documents (curriculum plans and schemes of work) cover the matters specified in sub-paragraph 2. The matters specified in sub-paragraph 2 are:
Full-time, supervised education for pupils of compulsory school age which gives them experience in linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical and aesthetic and creative education
the acquisition of speaking, listening, literacy and numeracy skills
where the principal language of instruction is a language other than English, lessons in written and spoken English are provided
personal, social, health and economic education
access to accurate, up-to-date careers guidance for pupils receiving secondary education
a programme of activities which is appropriate to the educational needs of pupils below compulsory school age (if the school has them)
a programme of activities which is appropriate to the needs of pupils above compulsory school age (if the school has them)
the opportunity to learn and make progress
effective preparation of pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in British society
And that is everything in sub-paragraph 2. As mentioned earlier in the next part of this episode I’ll share examples from my experience of what schools overlook, omit, misunderstand, or fail to address when it comes to meeting sub-paragraph 2 (1)(a). Spoiler alert most issues have to do with curriculum plans.
I hope you have found this useful.
If you would like a copy of the script for this episode, please say “yes” in the comments or send me a DM.
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