OFSTED NONSENSE!

I heard an OFSTED inspector talking about the strength of the inspection process earlier this week after the whole OFSTED process had been heavily criticised by one of the think tanks.
They argued that lesson observations were so hit and miss you might just as well toss a coin to decide the quality of teaching and learning. As an OFSTED inspector in a previous life, it has always seemed to me that at its best OFSTED merely provided one perspective which needed to be carefully placed against the range of other perspectives from the authority, chain or group the school belongs to. And then this needs to be used in a self-review process which engages all the senior team, and subsequently all the staff, in asking the questions about what is outstanding about the school and its provision, what is working well and importantly, what needs to develop and improve. This intelligent approach to accountability develops trust, ownership and commitment and can ensure that everyone involved with the school understands their strengths and weaknesses and is involved in the journey to make the outstanding commonplace!