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63-449: Grace College (formerly Joseph Swan School, then Joseph Swan Academy) is a mixed secondary school with academy status situated in south Gateshead, England which educates pupils ages 11–18. The school was originally named after the English physicist and chemist, Sir Joseph Wilson Swan . In 2001, the school was awarded Specialist Technology College status. In April 2019, Joseph Swan Academy

126-488: A high school (abbreviated as HS or H.S. ), can also be called senior high school . In some countries there are two phases to secondary education (ISCED 2) and (ISCED 3), here the junior high school , intermediate school, lower secondary school, or middle school occurs between the primary school (ISCED 1) and high school. Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills ( Ofsted )

189-508: A 50 to 57 hour week. Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders , said "Ofsted and the government are the source of much of the stress and anxiety on staff through an extremely high-pressure accountability system." On 8 January 2023, Ruth Perry, head at Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire , took her own life while waiting for the publication of

252-530: A Section 8 to confirm a Good School's continual status, they may extend the inspection by one day so converting it into a Section 5 in order to grade the school outstanding. Section 8 of the Education Act 2005 (as amended) gives the Secretary of State the legal authority to request His Majesty's Chief Inspector (HMCI) to enter a school for the purpose of obtaining information. Section 8 Inspections cannot change

315-540: A case where a school had been downgraded: We couldn't understand this rationale at all. It turned out that Ofsted had made a brief visit to the school some time before the inspection and had come up with some sort of unreported provisional judgement. So all that evidence we had gathered meant nothing and essentially this team of experienced inspectors was not trusted to make a judgement. Barton concluded his article, "the accounts above reveal an inspection system that appears in too many cases to be doing great damage. My sense

378-608: A different education system and priorities. Schools need to accommodate students, staff, storage, mechanical and electrical systems, support staff, ancillary staff and administration. The number of rooms required can be determined from the predicted roll of the school and the area needed. According to standards used in the United Kingdom, a general classroom for 30 students needs to be 55 m , or more generously 62 m . A general art room for 30 students needs to be 83 m , but 104 m for 3D textile work. A drama studio or

441-628: A greater variety of classes, or sponsoring a greater number of extra-curricular activities . (Some of these benefits can also be achieved through smaller but specialized schools, such as a dedicated special school for students with disabilities or a magnet school for students with a particular subject-matter interest.) In terms of structure, organization, and relationships, larger schools tend to be more hierarchical and bureaucratic , with fewer and weaker personal connections and more rigidly defined, unvarying roles for all staff. Teachers find that large schools result in more information to process in

504-412: A neutral or negative impact on students' results. In response to criticisms about the increased workload inspection frameworks caused, Ofsted pledged it would not change its inspection framework during the school year. Wilshaw also dismissed speculation that Ofsted itself was responsible for teachers' heavy workload (in excess of 60 hours per week) describing it as 'a red herring'. However, a 2015 poll by

567-598: A range of after school projects and activities. As of March 2007 the school has an operative Royal Artillery detachment part of Durham Army Cadet Force . The School Detachment is part of 5th Platoon in B Company. As well as the Royal Artillery detachment, the school is host to the Academy Band of the Band and Bugles of Durham Army Cadet Force which welcomes musicians aged 12–18. In April 2019, Joseph Swan Academy joined

630-477: A reduction from 19% to 9% in the number of schools judged to be Outstanding, and an increase from 4% to 10% in the number of schools judged to be Inadequate. A framework for section 5 inspections of academies and maintained schools was introduced from January 2012, and replaced with another new framework in September 2012. Public consultation was undertaken, and Ofsted prepared for the new framework after piloting

693-606: A report on the school on its website. In addition to written comments on a number of areas, schools were assessed on each area and overall on a 4-point scale: 1 (Outstanding), 2 (Good), 3 (Satisfactory) and 4 (Inadequate). Schools rated Outstanding or Good might not be inspected again for five years, while schools judged less favourably were inspected more frequently, and might receive little or no notice of inspection visits. Figures published in March 2010 showed that revised inspection criteria, which were introduced in September 2009, resulted in

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756-580: A report that downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate. Perry's family said she had described the previous November's inspection as the worst day of her life. The National Education Union, school leaders' union NAHT and the Association of School and College Leaders called for inspections to be halted, and a petition calling for an enquiry into the inspection received more than 230,000 signatures. HM Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills (the head of Ofsted), Amanda Spielman , rejected

819-428: A schools allocated designation but can trigger a Section 5 Inspection where that might happen. They are used in three ways: This is followed by : Inspection judgements form the body of the report. For each heading, eight or more critical paragraphs, at the inspectors discretion, are written that support the grade given. The two principal strands that are being examined are the effectiveness of safeguarding of

882-422: A secondary school may have a canteen, serving a set of foods to students, and storage where the equipment of a school is kept. Government accountants having read the advice then publish minimum guidelines on schools. These enable environmental modelling and establishing building costs. Future design plans are audited to ensure that these standards are met but not exceeded. Government ministries continue to press for

945-570: A series of inspections across the country. Among other changes, the new system relabelled the "Satisfactory" category as "Requires Improvement", with an expectation that schools should not remain at that level. In 2015 they published a Common Inspection Framework, and four handbooks which gave much of the details of inspections. These are no longer/not statutory documents so can be changed regularly. The four handbooks are: A new Education Inspection Framework (EIF) introduced from September 2019 sets out how Ofsted undertakes inspections under section 5 of

1008-561: A single basketball court could serve a school with 200 students just as well as a school with 500 students, so construction and maintenance costs, on a per-student basis, can be lower for larger schools. However, cost savings from larger schools have generally not materialized, as larger schools require more administrative support staff, and rural areas see the potential savings offset by increased transportation costs. Larger schools can also support more specialization, such as splitting students into advanced, average, and basic tracks , offering

1071-417: A specialist science laboratory for 30 needs to be 90 m . Examples are given on how this can be configured for a 1,200 place secondary (practical specialism). and 1,850 place secondary school. The ideal size for a typical comprehensive high school is large enough to offer a variety of classes, but small enough that students develop a sense of community. Research has suggested that academic achievement

1134-453: A system that existed until 2005. This system was based on schools being inspected by teams containing three types of inspector. Each team was led by a 'registered' inspector. They were accompanied by a number of 'team' inspectors, the number of which depended on the size of the school. Each team also contained 'lay' inspector recruited from outside the world of education. In September 2005 the distinction between registered, team and lay inspectors

1197-640: Is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government , reporting to Parliament . Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training and childcare services in England do so to a high standard for children and students. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, including state schools and some independent schools. It also inspects childcare, adoption and fostering agencies and initial teacher training, and regulates early years childcare facilities and children's social care services. The chief inspector ("HMCI")

1260-638: Is appointed by an Order in Council and thus becomes an office holder under the Crown. Sir Martyn Oliver has been HMCI since 2024 ; since August 2020 the chair of Ofsted has been Christine Ryan : her predecessors include Julius Weinberg and David Hoare. Ofsted publish reports on the quality of education and management at a particular school and organisation on a regular basis. His Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) rank schools based on information gathered in inspections which they undertake. An Ofsted section 5 inspection

1323-550: Is best when there are about 150 to 250 students in each grade level, and that above a total school size of 2,000 for a secondary school, academic achievement and the sense of school community decline substantially. Arguments in favor of smaller schools include having a shared experience of school (e.g., everyone takes the same classes, because the school is too small to offer alternatives), higher average academic achievement, and lower inequality . Arguments in favor of larger schools tend to focus on economy of scale . For example,

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1386-676: Is called a 'full report' and administered under section 5 of the 2005 Education Act , while a monitoring visit is conducted under the authority given by section 8 of the 2005 Education Act and can also be called an Ofsted section 8 inspection . In 1833, Parliament agreed an annual grant to the National Society for Promoting Religious Education and the British and Foreign School Society , which respectively provided Church of England and non-denominational elementary schools for poor children. In 1837, two inspectors of schools, Seymour Tremenheere and

1449-480: Is that it's time to stop quietly accepting that the way Ofsted is the way Ofsted should be." In response, Wilshaw attacked Barton for being "too quick to perpetuate a 'them against us' view of the schools inspectorate... we fall back on a 'clichéd defence-mechanism' of whingeing about inconsistency", and insisted that Ofsted was becoming "more rigorous and demanding". However, Barton argued the letter lost some of its force and all of its credibility for being published on

1512-541: The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) which said "Ofsted is over-reliant on number crunching, using test data which are fundamentally unsound" and added that the organisation was "ripe for overhaul". Over a period of several years the Select Committee had questioned the Chief Inspector over its treatment of Summerhill School and what it had learnt from the 1999 Court Case and subsequent inspections. In

1575-616: The Education and Skills Act 2008 , the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Childcare Act 2006 . The current Chief Inspector is Sir Martyn Oliver , who was appointed in January 2024 replacing Amanda Spielman . Ofsted directly employs His Majesty's Inspectors (HMI), who are appointed by the King in Council. As of July 2009 , there were 443 HMIs, of whom 82 were engaged in management, 245 in

1638-646: The Emmanuel Schools Foundation . As part of the school joining ESF, it has been renamed Grace College . Secondary school In the United States , most local secondary education systems have separate middle schools and high schools . In the United Kingdom , most state schools and privately funded schools accommodate pupils between the ages of 11 and 16 or between 11 and 18; some UK private schools, i.e. public schools , admit pupils between

1701-525: The NUT found that 53% of teachers were planning to leave teaching by 2017, with the extra workload from Ofsted's 'accountability agenda' a key factor in seeking a job with a better work/life balance. The Ofsted complaints procedure has also been heavily criticised for opacity and a strong bias in favour of the inspectors. Geoff Barton, after writing an article strongly critical of Ofsted's use of raw data rather than inspection reports to determine grades, noted that:

1764-468: The "central nervous system" of the school – examining how well the school was managed, and what processes were in place to ensure standards improve; the school leadership and management were expected to be aware of everything in the SEF. The SEF served as the main document when planning the inspection, and was crucial in evaluating the school's capacity to improve. After an inspection of a school, Ofsted published

1827-409: The 'minimum' space and cost standards to be reduced. The UK government published this downwardly revised space formula in 2014. It said the floor area should be 1050 m (+ 350 m if there is a sixth form) + 6.3 m /pupil place for 11- to 16-year-olds + 7 m /pupil place for post-16s. The external finishes were to be downgraded to meet a build cost of £1113/m . A secondary school locally may be called

1890-640: The Court Agreement between DfE and Summerhill School, Independent Schools Tribunal IST/59, inspections would include two advisors from the school and one from the DfE to ensure the fairness of the process. The school had campaigned for all schools to be similarly inspected, ensuring openness and accountability for the process. In August 2013, 18 of the 24 newly launched Free Schools were graded Good or Outstanding by Ofsted; however, with over 100 state schools being downgraded from an Outstanding classification that year,

1953-519: The Day care Standards provisions of the 1989 Children Act . Schedule 11 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 changed the way in which Ofsted works without significantly changing the provision. Since 2006 the structure of Ofsted has derived elements from business models, with a chair, an executive board, regional officers, and a formal annual report to Parliament in the light of concerns about schools, and local authority children's services. In April 2007,

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2016-473: The Education Act 2005 (as amended), section 109 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Childcare Act 2006. A Section 5 is also known as a full inspection; a section 8 is also called a monitoring visit. When the inspectors find serious causes for concern, they may extend the section 8 so it becomes a section 5 with the additional legal powers. Similarly, when using

2079-622: The Education and Training Inspectorate in Northern Ireland, Education Scotland (previously HM Inspectorate of Education ) in Scotland, and Estyn in Wales perform similar functions within their education systems. A new Education Inspection Framework (EIF) introduced from September 2019 sets out how Ofsted undertakes inspections under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 (as amended), section 109 of

2142-507: The English model, but differs significantly in terms of labels. This terminology extends into the research literature. Below is a comparison of some countries: Schools exist within a strict legal framework where they may be answerable to their government through local authorities and their stakeholders. In England (but necessarily in other parts of the United Kingdom) there are six general types of state-funded schools running in parallel to

2205-469: The English-speaking world, there are three widely used systems to describe the age of the child. The first is the 'equivalent ages'; then countries that base their education systems on the 'English model' use one of two methods to identify the year group, while countries that base their systems on the 'American K–12 model' refer to their year groups as 'grades'. The Irish model is structured similarly to

2268-571: The Ofsted complaints procedure too often seems constructed around a deep and dutiful need for self-protection. Thus an inspection system that demands transparency from schools refuses to release its own inspection notes, When challenged, it dares us to resort to a Freedom of Information request and then rejects those same requests because they don't conform to a definition of "public interest". In 2015, an inspector revealed that inspection judgements can be arbitrarily over-ruled by senior figures, commenting on

2331-657: The Reverend John Allen, were appointed to monitor the effectiveness of the grant. James Kay-Shuttleworth , then Secretary of the Privy Council 's Education Committee, ensured that the inspectors were appointed by Order in Council to guard their independence. The grant and inspection system was extended in 1847 to Roman Catholic elementary schools established by the Catholic Poor School Committee . Inspectors were organised on denominational lines, with

2394-497: The ages of 13 and 18. Secondary schools follow on from primary schools and prepare for vocational or tertiary education . In high and middle income countries, attendance is usually compulsory for students at least until age 16. The organisations, buildings, and terminology are more or less unique in each country. In the ISCED 2014 education scale, levels 2 and 3 correspond to secondary education which are as follows: Within

2457-442: The benefit of schools, parents, and government instead of reporting to the Secretary of State. In September 2001, HM Chief Inspector of Schools in England became responsible for registration and inspection of day care and childminding in England, and the position was renamed HM Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills . Previously this was done by 150 local authorities , based on their implementation by 1992 of

2520-578: The calls to halt Ofsted inspections. As a reaction to the news of Perry's death, heads at some schools have worn black armbands during inspections or removed references to Ofsted from their websites. On 25 March 2023, research carried out by the Hazards Campaign and the University of Leeds as reported in The Observer , stated that "Stress caused by Ofsted inspections was cited in coroners' reports on

2583-432: The churches having a say in the choice of inspectors, until 1876, when the inspectorate was reorganised by area. After the Education Act 1902 , inspections were expanded to state-funded secondary schools along similar lines. Over time more inspections were carried out by inspectors based in local education authorities , with His Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI) focusing on reporting to the Secretary of State on education across

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2646-510: The consistency of Ofsted grading was once again brought into question, leading to numerous 'How to get a Good Ofsted' guides being created. A 2014 report by the think tank Policy Exchange indicated that many Ofsted inspectors lack the knowledge required to make fair judgements of lessons and that judgements are so unreliable, "you would be better off flipping a coin". A 2014 poll of teachers, carried out by Teacher Support Network , revealed that over 90% of teachers felt Ofsted inspections had

2709-511: The contracts with the RISPs who are no more. 40% of additional inspectors who wanted to continue working for Ofsted were not re-hired after the contractual change. Although Ofsted insisted that this was part of a quality control process and "should not be seen as an admission that its inspections were substandard", serving headteacher and Times Educational Supplement columnist Geoff Barton commented "dispensing with almost 40 per cent of inspectors on

2772-456: The country. The government of John Major , concerned about variable local inspection regimes, decided to introduce a national scheme of inspections through a reconstituted HMI, which became known as the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Under the Education (Schools) Act 1992 , HMI would supervise the inspection of each state-funded school in the country, and would publish its reports for

2835-423: The day 40% of inspectors were sacked for not being up to the job. In 2019, Ofsted commissioned a survey on teachers' wellbeing. The Guardian reported that "Teachers said they spent less than half their time in the classroom, with the bulk of their hours spent on marking, planning and administration, including data entry and feedback required by school management to prepare for Ofsted inspections." Teachers worked

2898-635: The defunct Heathfield Senior High School . The school closed as Breckenbeds in September 1996. The current school was formed in 1996 as a merger of the Breckenbeds Junior High and Heathfield Senior High schools, becoming the Joseph Swan School . In 2006, the headteacher was Alan Fuller. Average annual enrolment is 1,300 pupils. The annual enrolment for year 2007/2008 is of 1460 pupils, including Sixth formers. As of March 2012, Joseph Swan School became Joseph Swan Academy . The school has

2961-442: The education has to fulfill the needs of: students, teachers, non-teaching support staff, administrators and the community. It has to meet general government building guidelines, health requirements, minimal functional requirements for classrooms, toilets and showers, electricity and services, preparation and storage of textbooks and basic teaching aids. An optimum secondary school will meet the minimum conditions and will have: Also,

3024-672: The following: Ofsted is one of the partner inspectorates contributing to joint targeted area inspections (JTAIs), along with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services . There are two types of JTAI: Ofsted was criticised as 'not fit for purpose' in 2007 by the House of Commons Education Select Committee. The committee also highlighted their concern about "the complex set of objectives and sectors that Ofsted now spans and its capacity to fulfil its core mission". Other criticism came from

3087-554: The former Office for Standards in Education merged with the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) to provide an inspection service that includes all post-16 government funded education (but not Higher Education Institutes and Universities which are inspected by the Quality Assurance Agency ). At the same time it took on responsibility for the registration and inspection of social care services for children, and

3150-451: The grounds of quality is hardly an endorsement of standards." An HMI accompanies an Ofsted inspector on a sample of inspections, including 75% of those of secondary schools. Reports produced by RISPs must be checked and signed off by HMI, sometimes with amendments, before publication. New Additional Inspectors must be monitored and signed off by HMI before working independently. The number of RISPs contracted to conduct school inspections

3213-399: The inspection of schools, and the rest in the inspection of other areas for which Ofsted in responsible. All HMIs inspecting schools have teaching experience. When Ofsted was created the original plan was that inspectors would not be drawn from education. the plan was to give parents an independent review of a school untainted by the education establishment. This plan was quickly replaced by

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3276-410: The larger environment (e.g., announcements about 100 programs instead of just 10) and that as individuals they form fewer relationships with teachers outside of their primary subject area. Smaller schools have less social isolation and more engagement. These effects cannot be entirely overcome through implementation of a house system or " school within a school " programs. The building providing

3339-442: The overall quality of education and training. Inspection reports provides important information to parents, carers, learners and employers about the quality of education, training and care. These groups should be able to make informed choices based on the information published in inspection reports. Ofsted monitors standards in schools, and tells schools what they are doing right and what they must do to improve. Before 2005 each school

3402-529: The private sector. The state takes an interest in safeguarding issues in all schools. All state-funded schools in England are legally required to have a website where they must publish details of their governance, finance, curriculum intent and staff and pupil protection policies to comply with The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 and 2016 . Ofsted monitors these. School building design does not happen in isolation. The building or school campus needs to accommodate: Each country will have

3465-412: The school is no longer deemed to be failing. Furthermore, the senior managers and teaching staff can be dismissed and the governing body may be replaced by an appointed Interim Executive Board (IEB). Schools which are failing but where inspectors consider there is capacity to improve are given a Notice to Improve (NtI). Ofsted, as of April 2015, was issuing new guidance to inspectors which will include

3528-492: The students and the impact of governance and management. Inspectors make graded judgements on the following areas: A school is placed into special measures if it is judged as 'inadequate' (Grade 4) in one or more areas and if the inspectors have decided it does not have the capacity to improve without additional help. Schools placed into special measures receive intensive support from local authorities, additional funding and resourcing, and frequent reappraisal from Ofsted until

3591-480: The welfare inspection of independent and maintained boarding schools from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). The services Ofsted inspects or regulates include local services, childminding , child day care , children's centres, children's social care, CAFCASS , state schools , private schools and teacher training providers, colleges , and learning and skills providers in England. It also monitors

3654-580: The work of the Independent Schools Inspectorate . HMI are empowered and required to provide independent advice to the United Kingdom government and parliament on matters of policy and to publish an annual report to parliament on the quality of educational provision in England . Ofsted distributes its functions amongst its offices in London, Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cambridge, York, Darlington and Bristol. Ofsted covers only England;

3717-423: Was forced to admit that it had done no quality control checks on these inspectors, and that a few of them – including lead inspectors – were not qualified teachers as prior to 2005 they had been 'lay' inspectors. In 2015, the chief inspector (Sir Michael Wilshall) decided that he wanted more direct control over Ofsted inspectors brought responsibility for their training, deployment and quality 'in-house' and abolished

3780-501: Was inspected for a week every six years, with two months' notice to prepare for an inspection. In September 2005 a new system of short-notice inspections came into being. Under this system the senior leadership of each school were strongly encouraged to complete a Self Evaluation Form (SEF) on a continual basis, which required them to be aware of strengths and areas for development. Inspections were generally two- or three-day visits every three years, with two days' notice. They focussed on

3843-909: Was reduced in 2009 from five to three: As of January 2021 , seventy per-cent of the inspectors are now headteachers or school leaders. Ofsted publish reports on the quality of education and management at a particular school and organisation on a regular basis. His Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) rank schools based on information gathered in inspections which they undertake. Inspectors carry out regular inspections of all maintained schools and academies, some independent schools, colleges, apprenticeship providers, prison education and many other educational institutions and programmes outside of higher education. Ofsted aims to improve lives by raising standards in education and children's social care. Ofsted monitors standards in schools, and tells schools what they are doing right and what they must do to improve. Inspectors publish reports of findings so they can be used to improve

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3906-424: Was removed and all contracted inspectors (as opposed to directly employed HMI) became 'Ofsted inspectors'. Most school inspections were carried out by additional Inspectors (AI) employed by external companies known as Regional Inspection Service Providers (RISPs). As of July 2009 , there were 1,948 AIs, of whom 1,567 inspect schools. Although Ofsted claims that most of these have teaching experience, in 2012 it

3969-497: Was taken over by Emmanuel Schools Foundation . As part of its transition into the ESF, it became known as Grace College from September 2019. Breckenbeds Junior High School was a secondary school on the current school site. The school taught pupils aged 11–14 and acted as a feeder school for Heathfield Senior School. The Breckenbeds site was redeveloped to provide additional capacity for 14-18 year old pupils that had previously studied at

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