OFSTED by @Miss_Toppin

Name: Miss Toppin
Twitter name: @Miss_Toppin
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): English
Position: Teacher
What is your advice about? OFSTED

1. OFSTED have not come to shut your school down, they want you to be good or better. So relax and be the great teacher that you are.
2. Your school’s last OFSTED report will have three bullet points for improvement. Make sure you have those issues covered in your planned teaching and learning.
3. As a good teacher, you will have established a rapport with your students and solid classroom routines. Do not change these, they are your foundation for great lessons.
4. Make sure that you have enough data on your students to inform planning that you can share (KS2, EAL, PP). If you do this in your first term, you can just keep updating it.
5. Keep a pile of marked and completed books or assessment folders on a desk during the visit. It could help the inspector to understand the effect of your teaching over time.

When OFSTED call by @molin_bryan

Name: Bryan Molin
Twitter name: @molin_bryan
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): Maths
Position: Assistant Headteacher
What is your advice about? When OFSTED call

1. Don’t go into a frenzy, this is easier said than done. Remember OFSTED don’t judge individual lessons these days.
2. Make sure you take in the advice of your head of department and Principal. The best schools have collegiate staff who sing from the same hymn sheet.
3. Plan your lessons clearly, make sure books are marked and show your ideas to your head of department. If you are worried, keep it simple.
4. Leave school as soon as you are prepared and your planning, marking and printing are done. You don’t want to get caught up in any frenzy.
5. Get a good night’s sleep. Overworking will not improve the quality of lessons and you will still want to be teaching great lessons when OFSTED are gone.

What to expect when Ofsted call by @bjm_teacher

Name: Beverley Jennings
Twitter name: @bjm_teacher
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): English
Position: Teacher
What is your advice about? What to expect when Ofsted call

1. Ofsted call. Remember that for the rest of the day teachers will keep teaching and pupils will keep learning.
2. When you get home dinner still needs cooking, washing still needs washing, packed lunches still need packing. Normal family life continues.
3. Expect SLT to remain calm, encouraging and positive (in public). Take them at their word.
4. Expect to feel relieved/disappointed when your lesson is/isn’t observed and it went well/terribly. (delete as appropriate)
5. After Ofsted leave remember that teachers will keep teaching and pupils will keep learning.

What to expect when Ofsted call by @StuartLock

Name: Stuart Lock
Twitter name: @StuartLock
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): Maths
Position: Headteacher
What is your advice about? What to expect when Ofsted call

1. Expect to be observed, probably for 20-30 minutes. Don’t assume it will only be once.
2. Expect your books to be taken in. Have them ready and marked according to the school’s marking policy. These could be from any class.
3. Expect there to be a lot of meetings, usually involving senior staff. It’s possible there may be a meeting for you to talk about policies or CPD and how it affects you.
4. Pupils will probably behave better than normal. If they don’t, apply the behaviour policy. At least one inspector should be an existing practitioner nowadays.
5. You will have the chance to fill in a survey. This is probably not the time to complain about SLT, unless you want your school to do badly.

When Ofsted call by @janbaker97

Name: Jan Baker
Twitter name: @janbaker97
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): MFL
Position: Curriculum Leader
What is your advice about? When Ofsted call

1. Data is king so make sure you have the progress data on your classes available in a file for easy reference. Set this up at the beginning of the year & update it regularly,
2. Try and annotate seating plans with focus group students e.g. SEND students so the inspectors can identify them without interrupting the lesson to ask. Do this in advance.
3. It’s worth having something in the data file so inspectors can follow what’s happening in the lesson and where it fits overall. Make things easy for the Inspector to find!
4. Don’t try anything risky and new. Stick to routines and look at what’s under your control rather than stressing about things you can’t alter. Being organised reduces stress!
5. Do try and get some sleep – staying up til 1am re-planning lessons will just mean you will be too tired to teach effectively the following day.

When Ofsted Call by @McGillycuddy101

Name: Kathleen McGillycuddy
Twitter name: @McGillycuddy101
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): English
Position: Deputy Headteacher
What is your advice about? When Ofsted Call

1. Don’t panic – data/results/management of the school – not your individual responsibility so let SLT & HoDs worry about those things!
2. Focus on your own classes – if you normally plan for kids to learn stuff then carry on. Show you know your class and your subject. No magic show required just great teaching.
3. Make sure you are happy with your books/folders and that you are following the school policy regarding marking/assessment. Implementation of policy is being checked not you.
4. You work in a team – ask questions and be ready to support each other. You may not even see an inspector as the visits are quick.
5. Ask to be seen if you want to show off what you do – a few colleagues have done this and felt 50 feet tall afterwards!

Ofsted Advice by @misterheeley

Name: Martin Heeley
Twitter name: @misterheeley
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): MFL
Position: NQT+1
What is your advice about? Ofsted Advice

1. Don’t change how you teach – they want to see an everyday snapshot of the school
2. Have a basic – basic! – lesson plan ready, so they know at what point they’ve entered the lesson
3. Point them in the direction of students you’re quite proud of – they’ve made lots of progress, and are happy to talk about their work.
4. Do not avoid them if they come in, but they won’t stop and have a chat with you.
5. Enjoy it – this is an opportunity for you to show them what you and your students can do!

OFSTED by @StuartLock

Name: StuartLock
Twitter name: @StuartLock
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): Maths
Position: Headteacher
What is your advice about? OFSTED

1: Don’t worry. The pressure is on leadership and governance so empathise unless you don’t like them.

2: Do teach as you always do plus, if asked to, fill in the plan proforma, data and so on. It’s 2 days and it won’t kill you.

3: Ensure your books are marked. Follow all policies as usual, including marking and behaviour.

4: If you’re asked for an interview, be honest without dropping your school in it (unless you want to).

5: Ensure you are on time to duties, be at your most professional, and be prepared to help out where any colleague requires it.