This month's Leader Magazine, published by ASCL, has a typically good feature article by Tony Thornley a former head teacher, inspector and the author of the Guide to self-evaluation.
In it he explores the future context for extended reflection and structured self-evaluation by schools in light of the Government's decision in the Schools White Paper to spell out that Self Evaluation Forms are no longer a compulsory element of the Ofsted inspection process.
Technically the completion of an Ofsted issued Self Evaluation Form by a school prior to inspection was never a statutory requirement for schools but, as Thornley points out, it would take a very brave school leader which would ignore Ofsted's preferred working model in advance of an inspection, no matter how cumbersome it may have been.
His advice to leaders is that even as the SEF disappears as a core element of the inspection system, its in their own best interests to continue to maintain robust self evaluation frameworks as a tool to shape and align improvement strategies within the school:
In it he explores the future context for extended reflection and structured self-evaluation by schools in light of the Government's decision in the Schools White Paper to spell out that Self Evaluation Forms are no longer a compulsory element of the Ofsted inspection process.
Technically the completion of an Ofsted issued Self Evaluation Form by a school prior to inspection was never a statutory requirement for schools but, as Thornley points out, it would take a very brave school leader which would ignore Ofsted's preferred working model in advance of an inspection, no matter how cumbersome it may have been.
His advice to leaders is that even as the SEF disappears as a core element of the inspection system, its in their own best interests to continue to maintain robust self evaluation frameworks as a tool to shape and align improvement strategies within the school:
"I would argue that you should maintain a slimmed down SEF. It makes you track the most important aspects of your work, it’ll be simpler than the old one, it shows governors and inspectors that you evaluate and know what you are talking about and, finally, it’s a very good prop if you’re inspected."
There's a good article from September 2010 in Sec Ed Magazine on the withdrawl of SEF that's also worth checking out.
Lastly while on the subject of Ofsted, there's a good presentation by ASCL's inspection specialist Jan Webber available online here, which looks at the way the revised Ofsted school inspection framework being introduced from September 2011 may operate in practice.
Lastly while on the subject of Ofsted, there's a good presentation by ASCL's inspection specialist Jan Webber available online here, which looks at the way the revised Ofsted school inspection framework being introduced from September 2011 may operate in practice.
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