Towards the end of 2018, it was announced that changes were being made to the way that Ofsted inspects schools.
With SATs just around the corner and these proposed changes being implemented from September this year, I wanted to highlight the changes, share my thoughts and discuss how these changes will affect the way you teach.
In this document posted to the GOV UK website, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman proposed 4 new inspection judgements which include:
- Quality of education
- Personal development
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Schools’ leadership and management
To simplify, the main change that will be taking place from September is that Ofsted’s focus will be moving away from headline data and will instead be looking at whether schools are offering a broad and rich curriculum, or simply teaching to the test.
Art subjects had been previously squeezed out of the curriculum because of accountability and funding. Now there’s a new realisation that art subjects are just as important as other subjects and we couldn’t agree more. However, unless there is extensive subject knowledge many teachers may feel out of their depth.
Handwriting is a great example of this.
The current curriculum and assessments are heavily weighted on handwriting yet the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) offers no teaching on this subject.
Subject knowledge is critical for the correct teaching of handwriting and penmanship, and many trainee teachers feel that they have little or no knowledge on handwriting, relying only on their own experience of how they were taught to write.
I believe that it’s important to equip teachers with subject knowledge before asking them to teach it and test on it.
Imagine how many children would no longer struggle with their handwriting if their teachers were given the right training and support on how to fix messy, illegible handwriting – no matter whether it is in a printed style or joined-up!
Have the Ofsted changes left you feeling out of your depth?
I am such a strong believer in ensuring teachers get the right support, guidance and knowledge when it comes to teaching handwriting and unfortunately this is simply not happening. So, I am taking it into my own hands.
I would like to offer free whole school handwriting training to 2 schools in September, to help them get the best possible start to the new school year. Would your school be interested?
Simply email me on info@morrellshandwriting.co.uk to show your interest and a short explanation on why you would like to receive my free handwriting support.