This week I report on new guidance on joining an attendance hub, Ofsted changes in light of Headteacher Ruth Perry’s death and the first fully digital GCSE is to be offered in computer science.

Attendance hubs guidance
The DfE has published guidance for schools on joining an attendance hub to get support and resources to improve their approach to managing attendance and significantly reducing absence. Schools seeking a place in a hub should complete an expression of interest form before Monday 15 January 2024.

Inquest rules Ofsted inspection “contributed” to the death of Ruth Perry
Heidi Conner, the coroner of the inquest into the death of Headteacher Ruth Perry, gave the verdict that Ofsted “contributed” to the headteacher’s suicide in January 2023. Ms Conner issued a prevention of future death notice in order to avoid similar situations happening again.

Ofsted has announced it will delay inspections next week by a day to give lead inspectors urgent extra training on Monday on dealing with anxiety and when to pause their visits.
From next week, a new complaints hotline will also be set up for schools to report any concerns about their inspection to a senior Ofsted official. The Chief Inspector has also indicated that the inspection handbook will make it clear that school leaders can be accompanied by colleagues in meetings with inspectors, and that they can share inspection outcomes with colleagues, family, medical advisers and their wider support group, before they are shared with parents.

First GCSE with fully digital exams to be offered
OCR exam board has announced that computer science will be the first “major high-stakes qualification” to be fully assessed on screen. The exam board has said that students starting their GCSEs in 2025 can sit digital rather than paper-based exams to allow for more authentic assessment of their programming skills and knowledge. The option of paper-based assessment will be retained.