This week I highlight updated DfE guidance on what schools must publish online and the publication of Ofsted’s annual report for 2021/22.

Updated DfE guidance on what schools must publish online
The DfE has updated its guidance on ‘What maintained schools must publish online’ and ‘What academies, free schools and colleges must or should publish online’ with example wording which schools can use to show that the most recent KS2 performance measures are for the 2018/19 academic year.

Ofsted Annual Report for 2021/22
Ofsted has published its annual report for 2021/22, the first academic year in which inspections were mostly unaffected by Covid since 2019. Key headlines include:

• 64% of schools had not had a graded inspection in the last five academic years, and 14% had not had one in 10 years. This was due to most inspections of ‘good’ schools since 2015 being ungraded, and because ‘outstanding’ schools were previously exempt from inspection completely. It was also due in part to the pandemic.
• 70% of previously ‘requires improvement’ schools inspected last year improved to ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, up from 56% in 2019/20. Of 220 schools that were previously ‘inadequate’, 2% became ‘outstanding’ and 63% became ‘good’, while 29% went up to ‘requires improvement’, 5% remained at the bottom grade, compared to 8% in 2019/20.
• There was anecdotal evidence that part-time timetables were being used more regularly in schools.
• Whilst Multi-academy trusts could not be inspected directly, Ofsted had carried out “summary evaluations” based on batch visits to several schools in the same chain. Ofsted conducted five evaluations last year and would continue to develop this programme with 12 other MAT ‘events’ this year to improve its methodology and understanding of the MAT sector.
• Some children were still being educated in unregistered schools in England where they were exposed to “misogynistic, homophobic and extremist materials that are contrary to British values” and some were operating in unsafe and inappropriate premises.
• Placements in registered state-funded alternative provision fell by 16% to but the number of placements in independent schools and unregistered providers continued to rise.
• The SEND system had “significant weaknesses” and the number of independent special schools continued to grow.