3.22 Our planned reforms to school inspections will free Ofsted to focus on schools’ core educational purpose. This includes focusing more strongly on behaviour and safety, which will be one of only four areas that inspectors consider in future.
3.23 Inspectors will be given more time to look for evidence of how well pupils behave, by observing lessons and pupils’ conduct around the school. They will also expect schools to demonstrate that the standards of behaviour seen during the inspection are maintained at all times. Inspection will consider whether pupils are and feel safe in school. It is particularly important that pupils are protected and feel safe from bullying in the playground and corridors as well as in the classroom. Inspectors will look for evidence of how much bullying there is in school and how well it is dealt with. Evidence from pupils and parents will be considered alongside evidence from teachers.
3.24 If parents have concerns about behaviour, and feel that the school has not dealt with them properly, they can ask Ofsted to carry out an inspection. In deciding how to proceed, Ofsted will consider whether evidence suggests that standards of behaviour have dropped since the last inspection and whether they give cause for concern. Ofsted may choose to contact the school for more information before deciding whether it needs to inspect the school, or it may carry out an inspection immediately if the problems are serious.
3.25 Inspectors gather this information about parent, pupil and staff views of behaviour through surveys and discussions during an inspection. Ofsted will review how this information is collected and used during inspections, including the best ways to make findings available to the schools and parents. Ofsted will also undertake a survey of effective and ineffective practices which address bullying. We will make this information available to all, along with case studies from the most effective schools.
