Lesley Cox, National Lead for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Ofsted National Association of Headteachers conference 10 March 2017

1. How Ofsted evaluates special
educational needs and disabilities
provision in schools
Lesley Cox
National Lead for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Ofsted
National Association of Headteachers conference
10 March 2017
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 1

2. Raising standards, improving lives
Inspection is primarily about evaluating how well individual pupils
benefit from their school.
Inspectors will test the school’s response to individual needs by
observing how well it helps all pupils to make progress and fulfil
their potential.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 2

3. Raising standards, improving lives
Inspectors must take account of the learning and progress across
different groups of pupils currently on the roll of the school.
This includes pupils who have disabilities, those who have special
educational needs (SEN), those for whom the pupil premium
provides support and the most able.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 3

4. Safeguarding
 Inspectors will check the quality of safeguarding systems at
every inspection.
 Schools must take account of the latest statutory guidance
issued. This includes making appropriate checks on all staff and
providing regular training.
 All schools may be inspected at any time if there is a concern
that children are not safe.
 Inspectors will gather the opinions of pupils, parents and staff
concerning safety and any serious issues will be followed up.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 4

5. Leadership and management
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 5
 Pursuit of excellence – uncompromising and highly successful drive
towards the highest levels of achievement.
 Relentless drive to improve teaching – rigorous performance management.
 Close tracking and rigorous monitoring of progress with interventions
quickly put in place.
 Any differences across levels of need, groups and subjects are effectively
challenged.
 Any dip in progress, when teaching is known to be meeting needs and of a
good quality, quickly triggers further effective assessment, including
involving parents and carers.

6. Leadership and management
 Curriculum – promotes positive attitudes towards learning and
contributes very positively to outcomes, physical well-being,
and mental health. It reinforces British values and spiritual,
moral, social and cultural development.
 English and mathematics – cross-curricular links.
 All groups, classes and subjects.
 A thorough evaluation of the impact of additional provision,
including additional staff, in helping to improve outcomes.
 Making adjustments to provision based on an accurate analysis
of needs.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 6

7. Pupils who have special educational needs
and/or disabilities make the best progress when:
 there were high aspirations for the achievement of all pupils
 teaching and learning for all pupils were good or better
 provision was based on careful analysis of need, close
monitoring of each individual’s progress and a shared
perception of desired outcomes
 regular evaluation of the effectiveness of the provision at all
levels took place
 swift changes were made to the provision as a result of
evaluating outcomes and well-being.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 7

8. Leadership and management
 Will evaluate how effectively the local area are working
together.
 Will focus on effective identification and how well needs are
being met.
 Will involve visits to schools to talk to leaders, parents and
pupils.
 Will review the school information report and files of pupils with
an education, health and care plan (EHCP) or identified as
having special educational needs support.
 Inspections started in May 2016.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 8

9. Outstanding leadership and management
 Leaders and governors focus on consistently improving
outcomes for all pupils, but especially for disadvantaged pupils.
They are uncompromising in their ambition
 Governors systematically challenge senior leaders so that the
effective deployment of staff and resources, including the pupil
premium and SEN funding, secures excellent outcomes for
pupils. Governors do not shy away from challenging leaders
about variations in outcomes for pupil groups, especially
between disadvantaged and other pupils.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 9

10. Teaching, learning and assessment
 Inspectors must not expect teaching staff to teach in any
specific way or follow a prescribed methodology.
 Inspectors must evaluate the use of and contribution made by
teaching assistants. They should consider whether teaching
assistants are clear about their role and knowledgeable about
the pupils they support. They should also consider how well the
school ensures that teaching assistants have enough knowledge
of the subjects in which they provide support.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 10

11. Teaching, learning and assessment
 Teachers and other staff have consistently high expectations of
what each pupil can achieve.
 Assessment information is used to plan appropriate teaching
and learning strategies, including to identify pupils who are
falling behind in their learning or who need additional support.
 Equality of opportunity and recognition of diversity are
promoted through teaching and learning.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 11

12. Teaching, learning and assessment
 Development of communication, literacy and mathematical
skills.
 Systematic, effective, ongoing assessment that informs teaching
and improves learning.
 Teachers know their pupils and the implications of any special
needs.
 Effective feedback deepens learning and identifies the next
steps for pupils to take.
 Any additional support improves learning and promotes
independence.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 12

13. Teaching, learning and assessment
In evaluating the accuracy and impact of assessment, inspectors
will consider how well:
 teachers use any assessment for establishing pupils’ starting
points, teacher assessment and testing to modify teaching so
that pupils achieve their potential
 assessment draws on a range of evidence of what pupils know,
understand and can do across the curriculum
 teachers make consistent judgements about pupils’ outcomes.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 13

14. Outstanding teaching, learning and assessment
 Teachers identify pupils’ common misconceptions and act to ensure that
they are corrected.
 Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour highly effectively, with clear rules that
are consistently enforced.
 Teachers identify and support any pupil who is falling behind, and enable
almost all to catch up.
 Teachers have consistently high expectations of all pupils’ attitudes to
learning.
 Pupils love the challenge of learning and are resilient to failure.
 Parents are given guidance about how to support their child to improve.
 Teachers are quick to challenge stereotypes and the use of derogatory
language in lessons and around the school.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 14

15. Outcomes
 Inspectors will consider the progress of pupils who have special
educational needs and/or disabilities in relation to the progress
of all pupils nationally with similar starting points.
 Inspectors will examine the impact of funded support for them
on closing any gaps in progress and attainment.
 The expectation is that the identification of special educational
needs leads to additional or different arrangements being made
and a consequent improvement in progress.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 15

16. Outcomes
 For groups of pupils whose cognitive ability is such that their
attainment is unlikely ever to rise above ‘low’, the judgement on
outcomes will be based on an evaluation of the pupils’ learning
and progress relative to their starting points at particular ages
and any assessment measures the school holds.
 Evaluations should not take account of their attainment
compared with that of all other pupils.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 16

17. Outcomes
 Schools may use a range of evaluation tools and evidence to
judge whether pupils are making or exceeding the progress
expected for their age and starting points.
 Inspectors must assure themselves that the methods used are
robust and that the school’s information is accurate and reliable.
 Inspectors must consider the progress of pupils who attend off-
site alternative provision for all or part of the week and the
school’s own records of these pupils’ progress.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 17

18. Outcomes
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 18
When judging the quality of pupils’ outcomes, the following aspects are important:
 preparation for the next stage(s) in education, training and employment, and
adult life
 identification of intended outcomes/targets involves the young person and
parents/carers
 having high expectations, using national comparator information where this is
available
 age and starting point of the young person
 taking into account the young person’s special educational needs and/or
disabilities.

19. Outcomes: mainstream schools with
specially resourced provision
Inspectors should not disaggregate pupils from the resourced
provision when commenting on whether a school meets the
floor standards. However, when using this information to
contribute to the evaluation of outcomes, inspectors must look
carefully at the proportion of pupils whose cognitive ability is
such that their attainment is unlikely ever to rise above low in
each cohort.
This latter consideration does not necessarily include all
children who have a statement/EHCP or all of those within
resource bases.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 19

20. Outstanding outcomes
 The progress across the curriculum of disadvantaged pupils and
pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities
currently on roll, matches or is improving towards that of
other pupils with the same starting points.
 For pupils generally, and specifically for disadvantaged pupils
and those who have special educational needs, progress is
above average across nearly all subject areas.
 Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their
education, training or employment
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 20

21. Personal development, behaviour and
welfare
 Inspectors will make these judgements using evidence seen
during the inspection as well as evidence of trends over time.
 The judgement for behaviour will be informed by documentary
evidence, including how the school tackles poor behaviour, as
well as discussions with and observations of pupils at break
times, lunchtimes and between lessons.
 Inspectors will assess the school’s use of exclusion, including
the rates, patterns and reasons for exclusion, as well as any
differences between groups of pupils.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 21

22. Personal development, behaviour and
welfare
 Inspectors will gather the views of parents, staff, governors and
other stakeholders.
 Inspectors must take account of the views different groups of
pupils express, their experiences of others’ behaviour and
attitudes towards them.
 Inspectors evaluate the experience of particular individuals and
groups, such as pupils who have special educational needs
and/or disabilities.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 22

23. Outstanding personal development,
behaviour and welfare
 Pupils are prepared for the next stage of their education, employment,
self-employment and training.
 Pupils value their education and rarely miss a day at school. No groups of
pupils are disadvantaged by low attendance
 For individuals or groups with particular needs, there is sustained
improvement in pupils’ behaviour.
 Staff and pupils deal effectively with the very rare instances of bullying
behaviour and/or use of derogatory or aggressive language.
 Pupils are safe and feel safe at all times.
 Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships and
are confident in staying safe from abuse and exploitation.
 Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe online.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 23

24. Overall effectiveness
Before making the final judgement on the overall effectiveness,
inspectors must evaluate:
 the effectiveness and impact of the provision for pupils’ social,
moral, spiritual and cultural development
 the extent to which the education provided by the school meets
the needs of the range of pupils at the school and in particular
the needs of:
- disabled pupils, for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010
- pupils who have special educational needs.
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 24

25. Ofsted on the web and on social media
www.gov.uk/ofsted
http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk
www.linkedin.com/company/ofsted
www.youtube.com/ofstednews
www.slideshare.net/ofstednews
www.twitter.com/ofstednews
How Ofsted evaluates special educational needs and disabilities provision in schools Slide 25