This one day online conference will discuss the future of Ofsted inspections in England and how schools are adapting to the new Education Inspection Framework.

It follows the ending of transitional arrangements made to the framework during the pandemic, with providers now required to demonstrate long-term strategies for their curriculum in line with new grade descriptors in the four judgements: the quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management.

The conference also takes place in light of Ofsted’s commitments to inspect all schools and further education providers by summer 2025, and with short-term recommendations from a recent ASCL report calling for Ofsted to:
• replace graded judgements with a narrative description of a schools strengths and weaknesses
• inform schools which year they will be inspected, and introduce separate frameworks for different school phases in the long-term.

It will be a timely opportunity for delegates to assess what has been learnt as providers have adapted to the new framework, and the ways in which schools have changed their approach to curriculum design in order to address systemic weaknesses the regulator found in the curriculum’s original design.

Attendees will also look at whether the new framework has started to tackle concerns surrounding the narrowing of the curriculum in some schools, as well as allowing for greater prominence for certain subjects such as the arts.

There will be further discussion on what now makes an ‘outstanding’ school, whether the link between a school’s outcomes and Ofsted judgement has changed as originally intended, how the workforce is adapting, and if the increased focus on the curriculum has had a disproportionate impact on teacher workload when preparing for inspections.

Overall, sessions will focus on:
• the new Education Inspection Framework:
     ◦ implementation so far - the impact of removing COVID-19 transitional measures
     ◦ support for schools in adapting to the four new judgements - assessing inspection readiness and guideline clarity
• curriculum design: responding to an increased focus on the curriculum within the new framework - grading for intent, implementation and impact - long-term session planning
• quality and standards in subject areas: assessing breadth of teaching and learning in schools - identifying knowledge gaps - next steps following the Ofsted review recommendations
• balancing competing priorities: assessing system capacity for improvement - addressing challenges for creating space in the school day for a broad and balanced curriculum - evaluating outcomes
• embedding enrichment programmes: integrating post-pandemic catch-up programmes alongside long-term planning and learning strategies
• support for the workforce:
     ◦ best practice in leadership and management for preparing for inspection - assessing current workloads when preparing for inspections
     ◦ examining the impact on teaching staff and students - opportunities for training and developing specialised knowledge
• inspection of online provision: the future for the Online Education Accreditation Scheme - regulation - assessing standards for teaching and learning
• student progression: minimising disruption to learners - evaluating student understanding - identifying individual needs - monitoring outcomes.

We are pleased to be able to include keynote addresses from Tim Oates, Group Director of Assessment Research and Development, Cambridge Assessment; and Darren Northcott, National Official (Education), NASUWT.