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Just A Little Something - Episode 6, part 3

Writer's picture: Ellen MukwewaEllen Mukwewa


Just A Little Something – Episode 6: Part 3

 

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


 

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.

 

Today we continue looking at paragraph 2(1)(a) I which I have split into 3 parts. Part 1 outlined what paragraph 2 (1) (a) is all about. In Part 2 I shared examples from my experience of what schools overlook, omit, misunderstand, or fail to address when it comes to meeting this paragraph. Today, in Part 3 I’ll share examples from Ofsted inspection reports – statements which provide the reason why paragraph 2 (1) (a) was not met. Please make sure that you watch the videos that we posted on Monday and Wednesday, so you have the full picture. Here are the links:

 

 

 

 

To get examples from inspection I downloaded the latest Ofsted inspection statistics spreadsheet, filtered out schools that failed to meet this particular paragraph at their most recent inspection and then picked a random sample. Here are the statements that explain why schools failed to meet the requirements of sub-paragraph 2(1)(a) straight from their inspection reports:

 


Reasons relating to the curriculum policy


  • “Leaders do not have a strategic overview of the curriculum.”


  • “…leaders have not thought enough about the substance of the curriculum in every subject.”


  • “In some subjects, curriculum thinking is in the early stages of development”

 


Reasons relating to curriculum plans


  • “The curriculum is not yet fully planned and sequenced across all subjects. It is not always clear what knowledge pupils should learn and when.”


  • “Leaders, governors and the proprietor body should ensure that the key content that students need to know is identified specifically…”


  • “In some subjects, the key information pupils should learn has not been set out clearly”


  • “In some subjects, they have not identified and ordered the important building blocks of knowledge that pupils must know”


  • “, leaders have not established consistently high expectations of what pupils should know and do in their topic-based learning”


  • “The school has not worked out precisely what children in the early years need to learn and when, especially in the Reception Year.”

 

 

Reasons relating to schemes of work


  • “The schemes of work did not set out clearly the knowledge and skills that pupils need to know and remember. The end points were not broken down to show the smaller blocks of learning that pupils need to secure over time.”


  • “In English and mathematics, schemes of work are in place and delivered. However, other curriculum subjects are in their early stages.”


  • “In each subject, there are schemes of work which take into account the ages of pupils. However, these schemes do not take the aptitudes and needs of all pupils into account fully, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).”

 


Reasons relating to the content specified in sub-paragraph 2


  • “Pupils do not experience all the required areas of learning, including human and social, creative, physical and technological education.”


  • “Pupils do not benefit from a broad and rich curriculum. For example, there is little opportunity for pupils to be physically active other than playing football at breaktime or lunchtime.”


  • “Pupils do not study a broad enough curriculum. There are limited opportunities for pupils, particularly those in key stage 3, to engage in scientific experiences and to learn about the wider world”

 

 

Reasons relating to effectiveness of implementation of the curriculum


  • “The curriculum is unambitious… Too many pupils follow courses that are below their academic abilities.”


  • “…leaders have adopted a local authority PSHE scheme. However, leaders do not have the knowledge or understanding they need to implement this effectively. They have not accessed any appropriate training…”


  • “Elements of the school’s curriculum policy are not implemented well. For example, the curriculum policy states that leaders review ‘pupil profile’ documents at the start of each academic year to ensure that the curriculum meets pupils’ needs. However, this work has not been completed.”

 

 

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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