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December 2020

  • Using Microsoft OneNote webinar: Watch the recording

    Published 10/12/20

    Skipton Girls' High School, an EdTech Demonstrator School, recently delivered a webinar on using Microsoft OneNote to support teaching and learning, including remote learning.

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  • Impact study: Learning platform training (Autumn 2020)

    Published 07/12/20

    Bradford Teaching School Hub is delighted to share its evaluation of the free to schools learning platform training funded by the Hub in the Autumn term 2020. The training was to support schools to develop teacher confidence and skills in providing rich remote learning via a learning platform in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The evaluation report is available below.

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  • Ofsted: Plans from January 2021

    Published 07/12/20

    Ofsted have now released plans for a phased return to inspection from January 2021. Further details are below, but in summary:

    From January 2021:

    • Schools – assurance visits/monitoring inspections to resume.
    • Social care – Focused Visits to resume
    • SEND – interim visits with CQC to resume

    From April 2021:

    • Schools – routine inspections to resume in summer term • Social care – short/full judgement inspections to resume
    • Ofsted are not planning to carry out graded inspections of education or social care providers before the summer term.

    Maintained Schools and Academies:

    • From January 2021, Ofsted will resume monitoring inspections of schools judged inadequate at their previous inspection and some schools graded as requires improvement. These will not result in a grade.
    • Emergency inspections of schools will continue as they have done throughout the pandemic, in response to any serious concerns raised with Ofsted.
    • Routine inspections, which result in a school being awarded a new grade or being confirmed in its current grade, will resume in the summer term.

    Further Education and Skills:

    • From January, Ofsted will resume monitoring visits to providers that would be monitored in normal times – in particular new providers and those graded requires improvement and inadequate.
    • Colleges that do not receive a monitoring visit may receive support and assurance visits. Safeguarding visits will continue in response to concerns raised about providers.
    • Full graded inspections will resume in the summer term.
    • Interim education visits to prisons will start in January, to support and challenge prisons to return to full programmes of education and skills activities following COVID-19 restrictions.

    Early Years:

    • Ofsted will carry out a programme of assurance inspections from the start of the spring term. These inspections will confirm whether or not a provider is meeting the early years foundation stage (EYFS) requirements.
    • Assurance inspections will be proportionate and risk-based. Providers will be prioritised based on the length of time since their last inspection, and any other relevant information.
    • Routine graded inspections will resume in the summer term of 2021.

    Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND):

    • From January Ofsted will resume joint interim visits with the Care Quality Commission. These visits aim to support improvement and will not result in a published letter or graded judgement.
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  • Extra Measures to Support Students Ahead of Next Summer’s Exams

    Published 07/12/20

    Students sitting exams and other assessments next year will benefit from a package of exceptional measures to improve fairness and prevent disruption. These measures affecting both primary and secondary phase statutory pupil assessments were announced by the DfE/Education Secretary Gavin Williamson last week.

    The BBC leads on the “extra measures to ‘boost fairness and support students’ to be used for next summer's GCSE and A-level exams in England. More generous grading, advance notice of exam topics and additional papers are promised by the Department for Education to make up for the disruption faced by students during the pandemic. Those who cannot sit exams due to self-isolation rules will still get a grade.”

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  • 2021 key stage 2: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)

    Published 07/12/20

    The Department for Education (DfE) have published statutory guidance for assessing and reporting the national curriculum at key stage 2 (KS2) in the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The Assessment and Reporting Arrangements (ARA) can be accessed here.

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  • 2021 key stage 1: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)

    Published 07/12/20

    The Department for Education (DfE) have published statutory guidance for assessing and reporting the national curriculum at key stage 1 (KS1) in the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The Assessment and Reporting Arrangements (ARA) can be accessed here.

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  • 2021 early years foundation stage: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)

    Published 07/12/20

    The Department for Education (DfE) have published statutory guidance for assessing and reporting the early years foundation stage (EYFS) profile in the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The Assessment and Reporting Arrangement (ARA) can be accessed here.

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December 2020