7 Ofsted Inspection Myths for Teachers


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5 Minute Digital Lesson Plan

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Are you producing things in your school that you don’t need to be doing?

Here are 7 common Ofsted myths busted for you. Wonderful. Grab a cup of tea and a biscuit and enjoy having a few gimmicks pushed into touch.

1. Teaching style ‘X’ is best

Ofsted just wants to know that your teaching style impacts the progress of the students. There’s not a one teaching style fits all. Different things work for different teachers.

2. You must show your lesson plans

Who would have thought it? Ofsted does not require schools to provide physical lesson plans – past, present or future. Inspectors are however interested in the effectiveness of lesson plans. They will judge overall how well lessons are planned but aren’t interested in the specific form of planning. Wonderful.

3. Always include quality and diversity

Inspectors don’t expect equality and diversity to be a part of every lesson. All they want is evidence that the students learn about the multicultural world they’ll live and work in.

4. Some subject grades can limit the school’s overall grade

According to the inspection handbook, “Ofsted doesn’t regard English, mathematics and work experience as limiting grades on study programmes.” Simples.

5. Differentiate everything

Differentiation is important, but inspectors know it’s unrealistic to expect every task or activity in every class to be tailored to individuals. They just want to know that you’re thinking about different pupil needs and making sure all students can achieve their full potential.

6. Information and learning technology is a must

Information and learning technology (ILT) does not have to be used in every lesson. You don’t have to weave it in just for the sake of it basically. It has its benefits, but best kept to when relevant.

7. In-house observations and grading are essential

Well, this is good news for you! Ofsted doesn’t actually expect all teachers to be observed and graded by your leaders. Woo-hoo! It’s completely up to your leaders what method they use to improve the quality of teaching, but for goodness sake, don’t beat teachers over the head!

The busting myths guidance is to highlight specific practices that are not required by Ofsted. It is up to schools themselves to determine their practices and for leadership teams to justify these on their own merits.

Now you’ve got this far, create lesson plans for you and try the 5-Minute Digital Lesson Plan to reduce your workload.


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