The new Ofsted Inspection Framework for 2019 is currently undergoing the consultation phase and promises some pretty major changes including altering the four key judgements. We have picked out some of the relevant sections where we believe your school website could help you to both meet and evidence each statement. We have also included some links to schools we think are doing a great job on this already to give you some ideas of the kind of content you could take inspiration from. Let’s make sure your school website is ready for the new Ofsted Inspection Framework!

 

1)     “leaders adopt or construct a curriculum that is ambitious and designed to give all learners, particularly the most disadvantaged, the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life”

We are confident that you already have a curriculum in place which is tailored to your school. You have no doubt already covered all of the requirements of this statement. But have you made that curriculum available online for parents and prospective parents? There are lots of ways to include your curriculum on website pages to ensure they are easy to find. It can be as simple as embedding your current documents within the page, saving you from creating pages from scratch when you already have all the information to hand. See here how Longtown Community Primary School have done exactly that.    https://www.longtown.hereford.sch.uk/Curriculum/

 

2)  “the provider’s curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment”

Again we have no doubt that you have planned a sequenced curriculum. If you have, as Greenisland Primary School have done, also shared this curriculum with parents by means of presentations then these are easy to upload as pdfs to your school website too. They can then be shared with any members of your school community who were unable to attend parent meetings. https://www.greenislandps.co.uk/Curriculum-Information/

At Oldfield Primary School they have added PDF versions of their curriculum maps for each year group on their website, making it easy for parents to access and see all of the learning links which they can then continue to support at home

https://www.oldfieldprimary.org/Learning/Year-Group-Learning/

 

3) “teachers and leaders use assessment well, for example to help learners embed and use knowledge fluently or to check understanding and inform teaching. Leaders understand the limitations of assessment and do not use it in a way that creates unnecessary burdens for staff or learners”

Since levels were removed from Key Stages 1-3 in 2014, schools have had more autonomy to create assessment systems which work for them – with the sole purpose of impacting on teaching and learning. But how do you communicate that to parents effectively when there is no national consistency? Again your school website could be the place to give information to parents on how you now assess pupils and use that to inform teaching and learning. You will find an example of a simple-to-understand version of this on the Harlowbury Primary School website. The graphic really helps to show how every stakeholder is involved in the assessment cycle.

http://www.harlowbury.essex.sch.uk/Assessment-without-Levels/

 

4) “learners are ready for the next stage of education, employment or training. Where relevant, they gain qualifications that allow them to go on to destinations that meet their interests, aspirations and the intention of their course of study. They read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension.”

We often share on school websites all of the current activities and opportunities. However, adding information about Alumni, and contact forms for Alumni to sign up to stay in touch with the school after leaving, is a really nice way to show ex-students how much you care about their lifelong learning journey and for current students and parents to see where your former pupils have moved on to. These aspirational targets can really help pupils to see the impact their schooling will have on their lives. Surrey Square Primary School have information about a pupil now studying for their ‘A’ Levels including student testimonial which is a lovely touch http://surreysquareprimary.co.uk/Alumni/.

St James’s Church of England School have included details of their Alumni Association and newspaper cuttings showing a visit from an old pupil to the school to inspire current pupils

https://www.st-james.bolton.sch.uk/St-James-s-Alumni-Association/

 

5) “learners have high attendance and are punctual”

Including your attendance figures on your school website is a really quick and easy job and you can choose from a range of layouts. You can update figures termly if you wish or simply have last year’s figures if you prefer.

http://surreysquareprimary.co.uk/Attendance/

 

6) “the curriculum extends beyond the academic, technical or vocational and provides for learners’ broader development, enabling them to develop and discover their interests and talents”

A school website is the perfect place to showcase everything your school is doing beyond the academic curriculum. One way to do this is simply in the design. Having full size photos scrolling can give any website visitor a really good impression of your school and a range of photos showing the academic and beyond, including residential visits or educational trips, can really show your school at its best. You could also go further and explain in detail on a website page what you do beyond the classroom or via your creative curriculum or awards and schemes you work with. Have a look at these three sites for some ideas on what you might want to include.

https://www.theeastbourneacademy.org/Our-Awards/

http://www.globeschool.org.uk/Learning/Beyond-the-Classroom/

https://www.finberry.kent.sch.uk/Curriculum/Creative-Curriculum/

7) “leaders have a clear and ambitious vision for providing high-quality, inclusive education and training to all. This is realised through strong, shared values, policies and practice”

There are certain policies you need to include on your school website for Ofsted purposes of statutory information. Our free School Website Checklist can help with this. You can also include pages on your visions and values which will show any visitor your aims and practices in school and beyond. These two websites include information laid out really clearly for their whole community.

http://www.richardatkins.lambeth.sch.uk/British-Values/

http://www.manorfield.towerhamlets.sch.uk/About-Us/Aims-and-Values/

 

8) “leaders engage effectively with learners and others in their community, including – where relevant – parents, carers, employers and local services”

Sharing information with parents is a really good first step in making your school website engaging for your school community. Cranfield Church of England Academy has included a list of useful parent websites helpfully broken down into key sections covering safety through to health and SEN support https://www.cranfieldchurchofenglandacademy.co.uk/ParentsUseful-Websites/

Waterloo Primary School have included loads of wonderful downloadable resources and leaflets for parents on a range of topics. We are sure they find these really helpful and I am sure you will too – but do ask their permission if you wish to replicate them for your own school.

http://www.waterloo.tameside.sch.uk/parents/working-with-parents/

 

We know that schools will already be doing lots of the sharing described here on their websites already (we have loads more great examples in our school website portfolios) but do get in touch if we can help in any way by making your school website easy for Ofsted to navigate and find the relevant information. We have some really good advice available for making sure your school website is also good for life – not just for Ofsted!