Going, Going, Gone: Correlating improvement needs and overall grades in 2023-24
Overall grades from inspections are on their way out in 2024-25 and, by 2025-26 we will see more changes as the much-heralded ‘report card’ system takes effect (possibly seeing the end of the four-tier grading system, but who knows with any certainty). As we step forward into this new and slightly uncertain future around inspection outcomes, I thought it would be of interest to school leaders to have another delve into the weeds of SSAT’s inspection tracker.
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Empowering future leaders: How Dormers Wells High School transformed student leadership
When Sarah Dowdle, Assistant Headteacher at Dormers Wells High School, took on the role of overseeing Student Leadership, she knew change was needed.
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Sometimes the path to school is complicated
In the village where we live, the primary school sits at the top of a hill. Alongside the main footpath runs an unofficial walkway, worn by small feet over many years. It marks out a more adventurous route along the top of a muddy bank, passing through bushes and behind a large oak tree.
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Minding the Gaps: How inspections in 2023-24 differed by region
In the past week, I have been looking at the regional variations in the 2023-24 inspection data with some interest and so I wanted to share them with you. Hopefully you will find them fascinating too.
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So… the honeymoon period is over? Now what?
Thirty eager faces, hands shooting up in the sky as soon as you ask a question, soon makes way for smirking furtive glances around the classroom, rocking back on two legs of the chair, and volunteering a reluctant answer only when asked directly! So how do we maintain the eagerness, the love of learning, and the hunger to answer questions and still look cool?
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Implementation matters
Implementation matters. Even the greatest idea remains only an idea until it is successfully implemented. Effective implementation is the cornerstone of all meaningful and sustainable change in education, whether your focus is classroom, curriculum or culture.
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Imagine your classroom
Within this learning space, there is a hugely diverse group of young people from all different walks of life. You have around thirty pupils for a lesson and you have to teach a complex concept.
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The independent learning review for Ofsted conducted by Dame Christine Gilbert
The independent learning review for Ofsted conducted by Dame Christine Gilbert, commissioned by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) and the Chair of Ofsted in April 2024, examines Ofsted’s practices and accountability in light of the tragic suicide of Ruth Perry in January 2023.
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Chicken or Egg – The Big Listen Outcomes and SSAT’s Inspection Tracker
My previous blog queried whether the data about ‘need to improve’ comments from inspection reports since January might be pointing towards an ‘Oliver effect’.
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Improving retrieval and exam performance in hospitality and catering through formative assessment
In May 2023 I was asked if I was interested in being an EFA lead for a new Embedding Formative Assessment programme (EFA), starting in September of the next school year. About to begin my eighteenth year as a teacher of art and design technology, it is fair to say it was time for a shake-up.
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