According to ‘Ofsted Inspection – Clarification for Schools Ofsted grade lessons – Handbook for inspecting schools in England under section 5 of the Education Act 2005‘ the following myths are officially debunked!

1. Ofsted grade lessons:

‘ Ofsted does not award a grade for the quality of teaching or outcomes in
the individual lessons visited. Inspectors do not grade individual lessons.
Ofsted does not expect schools to use the Ofsted evaluation schedule to
grade teaching or individual lessons.‘

2.Ofsted want to see children respond to marking:

‘Ofsted does not expect to see any specific frequency, type or volume of marking and
feedback; these are for the school to decide through its assessment policy.
Marking and feedback should be consistent with that policy, which may
cater for different subjects and different age groups of pupils in different
ways, in order to be effective and efficient in promoting learning. Ofsted does not expect to see any written record of oral feedback provided to pupils by teachers.‘

3. Ofsted want to see lesson plans:

‘Ofsted does not require schools to provide individual lesson plans to
inspectors. Equally, Ofsted does not require schools to provide previous
lesson plans. Ofsted does not specify how planning should be set out, the length of time
it should take or the amount of detail it should contain. Inspectors are
interested in the effectiveness of planning rather than the form it takes.‘

4.Ofsted inspectors prefer a particular teaching style:

‘Inspectors must not advocate a particular method of planning,
teaching or assessment. It is up to schools themselves to determine their
practices and for leadership teams to justify these on their own merits..’

5.Ofsted want everyone teaching the same subjects at the same time in the same way:

‘Inspectors must not advocate a particular method of teaching.‘

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Till next time…