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Inspection
School inspections are required by law and are carried out under Section 5 of the Education Act 2005 by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).
Further information on Ofsted:
A new inspection framework was introduced in September 2009:
In addition to the Framework this reference contains guidance for the assistance of inspectors and copies of the main inspection documents.
Because the emphasis in current inspection procedures is on the effectiveness of a school's self-evaluation, special guidance on preparing for an inspection can be found at:
betterre.reonline.org.uk/lead_manage/inspect.php
NASACRE has been commissioned to produce a revised, free self-evaluation toolkit. When published it will be accessible from here. In the meantime the original toolkit can still be found at: betterre.reonline.org.uk/lead_manage/toolkit.php
There are particular requirements for the inspection of schools with a religious foundation.
Information on the inspection of Anglican Schools is at:
www.natsoc.org.uk/schools/inspection/2005/
Ofsted also inspects subjects as part of a three-year rolling programme. Each of the National Curriculum subjects RE, personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) and business studies are inspected in general terms and in relation to issues specific to that particular subject. In the case of RE, Ofsted inspects a sample of 30 primary and 30 secondary schools. A small number of additional visits can be made to schools identified as having particularly good practice in the subject. The outcomes of this work feed into Her Majesty's Chief Inspector (HMCI) annual report but also, once every three years, result in a substantial report on the subject. Subject visits are made to a cross-section of primary and secondary schools. Each visit involves an evaluation of achievement and standards, the quality of provision, and the leadership and management of the subject. In addition, the inspection programme focuses on specific issues relating to the subject to track the impact of recent initiatives and to investigate the need for future developments. The visits are followed by a brief letter to the school summarising the points made in the feedback and discussion at the end of the visit. The feedback letter is copied by Ofsted to the local authority (LA) and the SACRE, where appropriate, and is available to the next institutional inspection team. It is also published on the Ofsted website. Further information about this programme of subject inspections can be found at:
Ofsted's last summary report of their findings about RE in English schools Making sense of religion was published in 2007 and can be found at:
The next Ofsted summary report is due out in Spring 2010.