It's OFSTED for every college now

From this September (2004) all independent schools will be inspected under Section 163 0f the Education Act 2003. Sounds pretty bland, but in reality over 3000 independent schools throughout England and Wales are in for a rude awakening. Up till now all independent schools, defined as establishments having five or more pupils under school leaving age, have regular inspections.

The mainly smaller specialist schools undergo a four yearly reporting inspection by one of Her Majesties Inspector's of Schools. This 'health check' is often a rather superficial sometimes cosy affair which lasts for only one day. Class room teaching and Administration are inspected by the HMI to ensure that the school maintains the minimal criteria to remain 'registered' and hence be able to continue to operate. Larger schools are inspected by ISI (Independent Schools Inspections), an arm of the Independent Schools Council, will continue to have the comprehensive full inspections of this service and will not fall under the new inspection umbrella.

For the rest of us, however, a new and more rigorous regime is about to start. At present it is very rare for a school to become 'deregistered' and to have to close its doors to students under sixteen years of age. From September the spectre of 'deregistration' is coming closer, as Section 163 prescribes more rigidly how the State believes an independent school should be run. This may not coincide with what the parents want from the school. Indeed parents have opted out of the State system because of the practical effects on their children of these very rules and regulations that have already been inflicted on State schools. All too often parents want a more personalised and responsive approach to teaching their children and this isn't always possible within the confines of a highly structured and regulated state school. The application of Section 163 to Independent Schools from next term brings the full rigour of Oftsed style inspections bearing down upon these often dynamic and successful small schools that have concentrated on teaching and learning and welfare of their pupils so well but sometimes at the expense of policies and regulations.

From September 2004 schools have to satisfy the Inspectorate by passing through many more hoops if they are to maintain their registered status. Last February Albany College was invited to be one of the independent education establishments to 'pilot' this new inspection scheme. We accepted because we are confident in the standards we apply in our college; and you don't often say no to HMI! We knew from our students and their parents that we are running a highly successful college and so we agreed to open our doors to HMI in March. We were rather taken aback by the raft of paperwork we had to complete. We went into great detail making statements, reviewing our policy documents and answering questions on all aspects of our operation at Albany. Before their arrival in March the inspectors had a very large file, the weight of a small tree, on our Teaching and Learning, Counselling, Policy implementation, Administration, Self assessments and Separate assessments by our parents and students who submitted their detailed questionnaires directly to Ofsted.

You can imagine the reaction to all this by some of our staff---- especially those who had been previously 'Ofstedded' and wore their bruises with pride. Pressure there most certainly was but also there was the anticipation that with a ten fold increase in inspecting power, the two HMI's spent a week inspecting Albany, would celebrate our many strengths and point the way to further positive developments so that Albany would become an even better college. During the week-long inspection in mid March we all realised that we were in the midst of a very demanding and thorough examination of the inner workings of our College. It was tough but also professionally very stimulating. The two inspectors had the time to inspect most of our classes and to appraise in depth the effectiveness of our teaching. They listened to the views of many of our students. They were also rigorous in inspecting the implementation of College policies and the impact of our administrative procedures on the running of our College.

The Inspectors were at all times highly professional in their dealings with our teachers and students and seemed keen to ensure that our College become even more effective so enabling both the strongest and the weakest pupils to maximise both their academic and social development. This diagnostic aspect to the inspection was welcomed by us all. The new inspection procedure ended on the Friday and the 'debrief' when the Inspectors gave their detailed evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of Albany to our assembled management team of senior staff. Seven key areas of school activities are considered in the inspection process and we needed to jump through at least ninety hoops to preserve our registered status. We were given a very positive resume of our teaching and learning confirming that Albany is singularly blessed with outstanding teachers. "The overall quality of teaching is good; the lessons seen were never less than satisfactory, usually good, and some were excellent." "The harmonious environment for students from differing cultural traditions" was exceptionally pleasing to hear. Also praised by the inspectors was the good progress made by students helping them to raise their self esteem and the strength of the pastoral care and careers advice available to our students.

Despite all the plaudits in the final published report, available for anyone to read from our office, we still had to improve in certain areas to comply with the new regulations. For Albany the identified areas for improvement were related to the policies affecting the College. We do have the right procedures but not always, it seems, acceptably codified in the right politically correct terms. It was reassuring to know that educationally and pastorally our College has strengths. However, the fact that we have to improve on the policy front worries me more than the fact that we can and will be able to jump through all the hoops by next term. It does give pause for reflection that what we commit to paper for general information and administration seems to carry equal weight with what I as a professional educator have always considered the major priorities, that is teaching and caring for my students to a high level. But improve our written policies we will and I am sure we will all be better for it.

Is there a lesson for other independent schools from the Albany experience? Yes. Remember what you do well and why parents chose to send their children to you. Welcome the good news that will come from the new inspection process and put the criticisms to positive use. After all, many more schools will have to participate in the revised reporting inspection procedure based on the Ofsted model. Your school can make positive gains from the experience. Nil desperandum...