All those with an interest in boarding and residential special schools are being invited to respond to Ofsted’s new proposals for inspection of these settings. The Office has launched this consultation process following the release of planned changes made to reflect new national minimum standards being introduced by the Government in September 2011.
Ofsted says it is aiming to provide better information on how inspectors make their judgements, while ensuring that reports are clearer for parents, carers and local authorities.
The Office is proposing to focus on four key areas in its inspections: outcomes for boarders, the quality of boarding provision and care, safeguarding, and the effectiveness of leadership and management. It is seeking views on whether these four areas will enable inspectors to capture how effective boarding or special schools are.
The consultation closes at the end of May and key findings will be published during the summer term. The results from the consultation and a series of pilot inspections are expected to inform a new inspection framework to come into force in September 2011.
