Ofsted
Introduction
Hello, and thank you for the invitation. Im very happy to be here and talking to you all especially after hearing Steves inspiring talk just now.
This years conference theme of belonging is very well chosen. It brings together some of the biggest challenges facing schools and offering pointersto some of them.
Because children belonging at school has never been more important. Its not just about the education they missed during the pandemic, its the wider benefits of going to school. The long and slow process of socialisation. Understanding the expectations of society. And learning to adapt and thrive among their peers. All of these things need steady attendance and participation. And schools job has got a lot harder.
Ive regularly raised concerns about the damage the pandemic has done to the social contract. To the clear expectation that parents should get their children to school every day and that in return, schools do everything they can to give children education and to prepare them for their future.
Making sure schools are a place where children feel they belong is vital to rebuilding that contract and to their learning and development.
The importance of belonging
For this, we obviously need to emphasise the importance of year-round attendance. The expectation does need to be clear. Therell always be some parts of school life a child is less keen on than others, but its not something you can pick and choose. That used to be well understood but, since the pandemic, the waters have got a bitmuddied.
Theres been a great deal of rapid social change and shifting expectations. But even in the new-normal, parents and children need to know that school is a package deal. Part of school is learning the things you didnt know you needed to know. And enjoying the things you didnt think you would until you tried them.
Theres value in a broad and well-rounded curriculum, not just the subjects a child enjoys most. Theres value in learning alongside and with your peers, not isolated and through a screen. And theres value in the whole school experience, not just in learning enough to pass a few exams.
But we also know that, even when parents understand the expectation and want to meet it, some are finding it hard.
And you have a big role in resetting the expectation. You know the damage that persistent absence can do. The more a child is out of school, the less well theyre likely to do. The more they dot in and out, the less theyll benefit. Obviously children may have to miss school occasionally but it shouldnt be for minor ailments or parental convenience.
But we shouldnt just talk about the negatives. Parents and children need to see the benefits of the whole package. The benefits of learning, of enjoying things like sport and music, of building relationships with adults beyond their families, and of building friendships with peers. These are the building blocks of wellbeing and a good life.
Good schools contribute so much to this. A meaty curriculum, good extra-curriculars, supporting additional interests, fostering friendships; this is the everyday activity of a school. These elements should be ingrained in the schools culture and carry the standards and expectations that you set for your children. And when those things are right, learning and wellbeing are most likely to follow.
Behaviour
I want to put particular emphasis on behaviour. I know how hard it is for many of you to deal with challenging behaviour at the moment. But poor behaviour can make other children anxious about school.
Clear rules and expectations, consistently applied, and with known consequences are of course important elements of a proven approach. But you know its not enough just to set the rules and sit back. Children need to be taught behaviour and routines explicitly, and to be given time to learn and practise meeting those expectations.
As you will all know, with the disruptions over the last few years, children are needing more support to understand and adopt new routines. And for some, school is the only place where they get this kind of structure and support.
But where schools do this well childrens sense of community with their peers and belonging also grows. A reliable, consistent, and predictable school culture will help children feel comfortable, so that they can truly benefit from all that school offers.
Consistency
I do want to be clear about the importance of consistency of expectations and of shared teaching and practice. Because building a sense of belonging isnt primarily about packages of micro-adjustments for every child. Thats no way to prepare children for adult life. Learning to cope and adjust on your own within the boundaries of a school, and of wider society, is an important lesson in itself.
Of course, there are some children than need individual flex, and for some, reasonable adjustments should be made. But this should be about enabling full participation, not about exempting children. Things like reduced timetables can help in the short-term, but contribute to children coming further adrift if they dont come with a transition plan to begin or return to full-time learning.
SEND support is vital for those who need it, but it shouldnt become a catch-all for every challenge a child faces. There is a growing tendency to link all problems with behaviour and attendance to unmet SEND. But that isnt fair to children with SEND. And it isnt always helpful for children to be labelled.
Labels and diagnoses for children who are just dealing with the normal complexities of growing up can isolate them further. And we risk making children feel they cant or dont need to meet the expectations that we should have for all children.
Childhood, adolescence, and education can be more difficult for some than others. Every child sometimes struggles, or feels awkward, or that they dont fit in. But good schools can and do help most children through most of these challenges within the bounds of your core work with high quality education and strong pastoral care.
This is even more true following the pandemic. We have more children struggling but to locate those problems in a child isnt always right.
Teachers need the support of a strong and clear framework for deciding when adjustments are appropriate. We know many teachers are finding this part of their job is taking up much more time than previously.
Understanding and identifying the children that need additional help, and need steady encouragement is an important part of a teachers job.
Obviously, some children do need additional help, and they should get it. And we understand the frustrations and long wait times for EHC plans. So, making sure that the limited SEND resources on the children who most need them is even more important.
By giving the teachers in your schools clear guidance and support, you can empower them to make decisions with confidence and spend as much time as possible teaching.
Make the job doable
And belonging matters for teachers too. Teachers need the right support and structures to do their jobs well. I know that good trusts do a great deal of work in this area.
Making the job doable for teachers helps strengthen a schools culture, increase their time with students, and help with the recruitment and retention problems that so many of you are facing.
And a big part of making the job doable is making sure that children feel they belong. When attendance is high and behaviour is good, its easier to teach.
Making the job doable also comes from minimising mission-creep in schools. Ive consistently warned against loading schools up with new agendas and roles. I do believe schools should be able to concentrate on their core job of education. Though this is hard at the moment with a combination of challenges that I know are falling to you.
Later today youre going to hear from Doug Lemov. As he and his co-authors say in Reconnecting:
Achieving simple and important things in a complex and challenging world is no easy task. And adding more goals can create as much distraction as benefit. Getting everyone focussed on one or two key things is plenty difficult.
Educating children is a difficult and complex goal on its own. Every policy maker contemplating adding a new role for schools, needs to give real thought as to whether it is important enough to risk that core mission.
Role of Ofsted
Making the job doable is something that we are very focused on. When we developed and introduced this framework, we made sure it rebalanced our approach shifting accountability upstream away from junior teachers and more on senior decision makers.
We intentionally built a framework that gets under the bonnet of a school but doesnt need you to do anything beyond what you should already be doing for your students. Our model is built around professional dialogue and has reduced the need for collecting and analysing reams of data. Its about having conversations that get to reliable judgements but also have professional value for school leaders.