Ofsted want your opinion

Ofsted now have a ‘Parent View’ page:

http://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/

“Parent View gives you the chance to tell us what you think about your child’s school.

Parent View asks for your opinion on 12 aspects of your child’s school, from the quality of teaching, to dealing with bullying and poor behaviour. We will use the information you provide when making decisions about which schools to inspect, and when.

By sharing your views, you’ll be helping your child’s school to improve. You will also be able to see what other parents have said about your child’s school. Or, if you want to, view the results for any school in England”.

Please note that Parent View does not currently include independent schools.

New Ofsted report into school governance published

Published on May 18 on the Ofsted website, a report into what makes effective school governance.

A short summary of the report, published separately, highlights the following:

Inspection evidence tells us that there is a relationship between effective governance, the quality of leadership and management, and the quality of provision and pupil achievement…there is potential in many schools for governors to make an even greater contribution than they do at present to improving outcomes.

The Chief Inspector’s Annual Report for 2009-10 declares that

Governors are most effective when they are fully involved in the school’s self-evaluation and use the knowledge gained to challenge the school, understand its strengths and weaknesses and contribute to shaping its strategic direction.

The summary report also lists the fourteen key characteristics of effective governing bodies.

Clearly, the role is critical in promoting a school’s success. Section 53 of the full report (p.19) lists questions to help governors reflect on their work.

You can read the full report here, or the summary report here (both PDF).