The inspector will invite as many governors as possible (not just the chair of governors/trustees) to attend a meeting at the school to discuss their roles and responsibilities and the impact they have had.
If the chair cannot attend in person a phone call will be arranged.
“The lead inspector will make arrangements for a meeting with the chair of the governing body or, if appropriate, the chair of the board of trustees and as many governors/trustees as possible. Inspectors will also ask the school to invite as many governors/trustees as possible to attend the final feedback meeting.”
School Inspection Handbook
“As many governors or trustees as possible are invited to meet inspectors during an inspection. An inspector may talk to the chair of governors by telephone if s/he is unable to attend a face-to-face meeting with the inspector in school.”
OFSTED inspection myths
Inspectors will study governing body minutes to see evidence of challenge, support and actions taken. They will look at the school improvement plan, governor visit reports and any action plans governors have written.
A school could also provide evidence of training governors have received and any skills audits or self-evaluations they have undertaken. At the end of the inspection all governors are entitled to attend a feedback meeting to hear the inspectors’ judgements.
OFSTED explain how they inspect schools in the document Education Inspection Framework, which applies to all maintained schools and academies. A longer document, the School Inspection Handbook, sets out the criteria that inspectors use to make judgements.
The school will be given an overall judgement of Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate, plus judgements in four key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management. A judgement on governance will be made within the leadership and management section.
In a standard full section 5 or shorter section 8 inspection OFSTED will call the school the day before they arrive, although “no-notice” inspections can be made (with about 15 minutes’ notice given in practice) if there are serious concerns about the school such as safeguarding or very poor leadership and governance.
Can OFSTED see confidential minutes?
Yes. OFSTED have the right to see confidential governing body minutes under section 10 of the Education Act 2005.
“When inspecting a school under section 5 or 8, the Chief Inspector has at all reasonable times a right to inspect, and take copies of, any records kept by the school, and any other documents containing information relating to the school, which he considers relevant to the discharge of his functions.”
Education Act 2005
Inspectors will examine how governors are carrying out each one of their three core functions – to set the strategic direction, ethos and vision of the school, to hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and to oversee the budget and finances.
They also check that all statutory duties are being fulfilled, for example by examining the procedures for safeguarding, as well as looking for evidence that the governing body is actively improving the school.
This is what inspectors are looking for when examining governance:
“Those responsible for governance understand their role and carry this out effectively. They ensure that the provider has a clear vision and strategy and that resources are managed well. They hold leaders to account for the quality of education or training.
“They ensure that the provider fulfils its statutory duties, for example under the Equality Act 2010, and other duties, for example in relation to the Prevent strategy and safeguarding, and promoting the welfare of learners.”
Education Inspection Framework
“Inspectors will seek evidence of the impact of those responsible for governance.”
School Inspection Handbook
What questions will OFSTED ask governors?
There is no set list of questions as inspectors will ask about the issues your particular school is facing and how governors are tackling them. However, in a blog post OFSTED shared some general questions that governors and trustees may be asked during inspections.
- What is the vision for the school is and how is this shared?
- What are the strengths of our school, how do we know they are strengths and what needs to improve?
- Do governors understand the issues the school faces?
- Is the overall culture of the school one of high expectations for teaching, learning, pupil behaviour and safety?
- How is excellent work recognised?
- Do governors challenge school leaders by asking probing questions about pupil outcomes, assessment arrangements, safeguarding procedures etc?
- What other sources of information do governors use to find out the views of parents, staff and children?
- Are governors aware of how the school’s finances are being managed or how staff are recruited?
Governors may also be asked about:
Triangulation – how do you check that information from the headteacher correlates with what is really happening in the school? Have you read or commissioned external reports? Do you visit the school to see the impact of policies? How do you know that safeguarding procedures are sound?
Finance – what are your priorities for pupil premium spending and how do you know the money is closing the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children? How is the sport premium spent? Do governors have the skills they need to oversee the budget?
Groups of pupils – which groups of pupils are governors concerned about and how are they addressing that concern? For example, boys versus girls, SEND pupils, pupil premium children, one specific year group or class. Are all groups making progress? How do you know if interventions are working?
Is the headteacher present when governors meet OFSTED?
No, not when the inspection is ongoing. OFSTED state that they wish to meet governors alone without the presence of school staff while they are still forming judgements. In the feedback meeting at the end of the inspection the headteacher is present alongside governors, all of whom have the right to hear the results of the inspection immediately.
“Meetings or telephone discussions with those responsible for governance should take place without the headteacher or other senior staff being present.”
School Inspection Handbook
“All those responsible for governance need to know the outcome of the inspection as soon as possible.”
OFSTED inspection myths
“Grades may be shared with school staff and all those responsible for the governance of the school, irrespective of whether they attended the meeting, so long as they are clearly marked as provisional and subject to quality assurance.”
School Inspection Handbook
Once governors have been told the school’s grading they must keep it confidential until the final OFSTED report has been sent to the school. Before the report is finalised a draft copy will be sent.
Are governors present at the final feedback meeting?
Yes. As many governors or trustees as possible should attend the final feedback meeting. This is made clear in the School Inspection Handbook.
“The on-site inspection ends with a final feedback meeting with the school. Those connected with the school who may attend include:
– the headteacher and other senior leaders, agreed by the lead inspector and headteacher
– for maintained schools, the chair of the school’s governing body and as many governors as possible
– for academies, including academies that are part of a MAT, the chair of the board of trustees and as many trustees as possible.”
School Inspection Handbook
Can governors see a draft OFSTED report?
Yes, OFSTED say that governors can see draft inspection reports. Schools are always given a chance to make comments on the draft but unless they have been judged to be “causing concern” (in other words, judged to be inadequate) staff can only dispute the facts of the report, not the opinions of the inspector.
“The draft report is restricted and confidential to the relevant personnel (as determined by the school), including those responsible for governance.”
School Inspection Handbook
Once the report has been finalised it becomes available to the general public on the OFSTED website.
Will OFSTED recommend an external review of governance?
No. Previously OFSTED recommended that schools with weak governance received an external review from a governance expert, but that idea has now been scrapped.
“From September 2019, under the Education Inspection Framework, inspectors will no longer recommend that the school carries out an external review of the pupil premium and/or governance, where weaknesses have been identified.”
School Inspection Update July 2019 (pdf)
What is the clerk’s role in an OFSTED inspection?
This varies from school to school, but in the clerking roles I have held my only involvement has been to email the school some governor details such as terms of office on the day before the inspection.
Some clerks will be more involved though, perhaps being asked to invite as many governors as possible to meet the inspector, providing paperwork such as minutes or action plans or checking that the governance section of the website is up-to-date. It may be helpful for the clerk to keep a specific OFSTED file at the school that contains governance paperwork so there is no last minute panic!
The clerk is allowed to take notes at the final feedback meeting in both maintained schools and academies, although again whether the clerk is actually invited will depend on the school.
The clerk does not attend the initial meeting between governors and the inspector and I have never heard of a clerk who has actually been interviewed by OFSTED.
“The on-site inspection ends with a final feedback meeting with the school. Those connected with the school who may attend include:
– for maintained schools, the chair of the school’s governing body and as many governors as possible; the clerk to governors (or equivalent), or their delegate, may also attend to take notes
– for academies, including academies that are part of a MAT, the chair of the board of trustees and as many trustees as possible; the clerk to governors or the board (or equivalent), or their delegate, may also attend to take notes.”
School Inspection Handbook