By Sheila Mckenzie-
Ofsted inspectors will be monitoring the developments of schools, and checking how they are helping pupils catch up on missed teaching, the education secretary has said.
Last Friday, the British government announced a £650 million share of additional funding to aid pupils who have fallen behind as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The funding is part of a £1 billion package, including £350 million for a national tutoring programme.
Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, will be asking Ofsted to examine “how this has been implemented, and how children have been supported in their catch-up plans”.
Ofsted inspections of schools have been suspended since March, and chief inspector Amanda Spieldman has said they are unlikely to resume before the end of the summer term.
Accountability-
Ofsted ensures accountability of primary and secondary schools in the UK, rating them on a spectrum of standards: outstanding, good, needs improvement, and inadequate. Schools ranked as inadequate are required to act on the recommendations for improvement by Ofsted, or risk being closed down if their inadequate standards show no signs of improvement after having long enough to change them.
Conviction
Just over a week ago, Ofsted secured a High Court conviction against a private school for admitting pupils despite being banned from doing so – fining its trust and leader thousands of pounds.
Rabia Girls’ and Boys’ School in Luton become the first registered independent school to be prosecuted by the government after years of failings. The British government is determined to make sure pupils do not miss out on valuable education.
Speaking in the Commons today, Williamson said: “It’s really important that we understand the vital role that Ofsted plays in making sure that we have strong accountability in schools.
“And when we’re looking at making this significant investment of £1 billion in terms of supporting youngsters to catch up and supporting schools, one of the areas and aspects I’ll be asking Ofsted to look at is how this has been implemented, and how children have been supported in their catch-up plans.”
Spielman told the parliamentary education committee in April that schools would not be judged “per se” on their coronavirus response, with inspections set to focus on the quality of education once they resume.
Amanda Spielman told Mps there were no standard on which to judge schools during COVID-19
“There is no standard of home or online learning by which we would be able to judge schools,”she said.