Just had the email, oh happy day!

I’m an NQT so not been through the ordeal before. It’s a good school, but that doesn’t soften it much.

What’s the drill? Any top tips? Any hilarious horror stories?

First Bowie and then this, it really is a Monday.

Say hello OFSTED and not OFTED.

😉

EDIT: OP edited his post 😉

The cracks are showing already!

Just rely on the kids to back you up 100%

Just treat it like a visit from the Gestapo.

Just rely on the kids to back you up 100%

Nelson says “HAHA”.

Don’t stress. You’ll be on holiday again in a little over 4 weeks.

Make sure you can put your hands on evidence to show why you are teaching something to seniors.

It’s not shaping up to be too bad. I’m free in the morning, which gives me some wiggle room, then a double year 9 till lunch and a single after lunch, both of which will be taken up with the options talk, so that’s ok.

The only potential clustercuss is P6 Y9 ITC. I’m not an IT teacher, I receive no support from the dept. and, although the students get good results, they are a little bit, um, wild.

Whenever we had visitors at my old school, I was instructed to take my BTEC science group outside by the wall to hide. It was amazing how much smoke comes out of trees in the distance on a warm summers day.

Only people I couldn’t get away with this from was OFSTED, BTEC were fantastic up until the last 20 minutes of a double lesson with them, when OFSTED still hadn’t been in and one of them turned and said “Where are these OFSTED **** sir? We’ve been dead good all lesson. **** **** aren’t coming are they” ah I do miss their way with words.

They saved me once from a surprise H&S inspection – one came running into the classroom having bumped into visitors from county, and someone bigger I thnk it was HMI. Little buggers gutted the classroom thewall the junk in cupboards, neatened up lab coats, turned the classroom into a pristine looking class, wrote some random shit on the board to make it look like they were learning, and sat and read science books, all on a Friday afternoon double with them after lunch.

Chillax dude!

They’ll have already made up their mind about your school before they walk through the door from all the analysis of data they do, and as an NQT you can’t be blamed for anything, not even your own bad teaching (which is only a theoretical possibility, no offence intended), and the buck doesn’t stop with you for anything! Primary or secondary school by the way, in other words how important are you in the grand scheme of things to the little darlings’ overall education?
I say this as a secondary school teacher of an ‘optional’ subject who has managed to avoid OFSTED for over 8 years, however my wife’s school* had one last year.

(*she’s a teacher, not a student before anyone asks)

EDIT: read your later post: Year 9? YEAR 9???? YOU’RE DOOMED I SAY, DOOMED!!
Enjoy! 🙂

EDIT 2:

P6 Y9 ITC.

Do you mean ICT? Best you get that sorted before tomorrow afternoon.

I’m secondary (teaching D&T-Electronics), and it’s a grammar school (fnar fnar)

See, I thought it was ICT (Information Communication Technology, right?) HOWEVER, they call it ITC (Information Technology and Computing) here, just to confuse matters.

A good grammar school? I’m at one of those too, you’ll be fine, the Tory boys love grammar schools so OFSTED go easy. In theory, anyway. ICT is now ITC?? Will the meddling never end?

JESUS, you’re not at my school are you? Initials HGS??

<quickly goes to check work email>

….opposed to ICTC, which is getting into Star Wars territory.

I wondered if it was the same school….though I figured you’d have to be deep into some full-on procrastination to miss the email. Not the same school though.

We’ve got CQC on wednesday… grrrrr

he only potential clustercuss is P6 Y9 ITC

They generally inspect half lessons and the last lesson is taken up comparing notes, so they prob won’t see you if P6 is last.
they’ll take a book sample to check marking though, so you’re screwed.

We’ve got CQC on wednesday

Mrs oxym0r0n had this before Christmas – I am awaiting an immanent OFSTED…

Advice?

Get off STW and get your/you’re sh*t together 😉

No, seriously – probably not much you can do now unless you have a few hundred hours to make sure all your books have next step targets in etc. etc.

I think they are less interested in direct teaching these days and more interested in whether systems are in place and learning is taking place

Get off STW and get your/you’re sh*t together

Woah woah woah. WHOA!…….woah. Let’s not get hasty.

What’s the difference between a plastic surgeon and an Ofsted inspector?

A plastic surgeon tucks features….

Good luck

My hilarious story involves a student getting shot in the face with a crossbow bolt during and another student having to be physically restrained after going loopy on legal highs. Both on the day of inspection. That was fun.

Just continue to do your best and try and be as well prepared as you can be, it may well be less stressful than you anticipate.

If it is any consolation, the senior management team are the ones who will/deserve to take any flack for any issues.

They will be sh**ting bricks right about now, and if where I used to work was any yardstick, they might actually be seen around the school talking to staff and offering encouragement for the first time since the last inspection.

I experienced four inspections in my time, one as lowly classroom teacher, two as as curriculum leader and one as a part timer. Guess which were worst?

The worst ones were at the time when you had a couple of weeks notice…..that really brought out the ‘best’ in managers relationships with their staff

Actually I was only observed taking lessons in two of them, the others were much more paperwork based and discussions of internal standardisation/best practice for me.

As a Geography teaching Head of Sixth form, our last inspection began with a staff gathering at which the lead inspector said their focus was going to be Post 16 provision and Humanities subjects.
👿

headfirst is right, decision has already been made by the inspection team – they just spend their time in the school looking for the evidence to support it.

So, little you can do to influence anything – therefore no need to stress too much.

Assuming you are happy with your day to day teaching and have had decent feedback from peers/leaders/students, just do what you were going to do anyway in the way you normally do it.

The school completes a self evaluation where it supplies the evidence to say what level it is at. OFSTED uses that as the basis of their inspection.

Great if your leadership team know what they are doing, soul destroying if they are delusional.

I’ve been in teaching for 7 years now, and managed to miss the OFSTED bullet 4 times!
First was during my PGCE, so they didn’t even bother looking into the room. Good thing too as my year 8 woodwork class were mental.
The second I happened to be off camping with year 8 for two days – oh how us happy campers chuckled!
The third I was on my 2 weeks paternity leave.
The fourth happened last June at the school I joined in September! They got a good with some outstanding, so should be ok for a couple of years at least.
Having said all that, I’m now a HoD, so I’ll be bricking it when it finally does happen 😯

Mrs_oab had four HMIE (Scottish inspectors)/Care Commission (our CQC) in one year. Being based in three schools at once has its downside….

Good luck OP – despite all the fearsome fearsome stories and we hate being inspected and ‘PANIC’ culture in schools, I have found OFSTED and HMIE and Care Commission and AALS to be professional, supportive, critical and questioning. They were all good in helping shape my professional practice.

Best thing in my experience was to ask the inspectors views and take on things proactively.

Best thing in my experience was to ask the inspectors views and take on things proactively.

Top tip – don’t take the piss and argue them down on their grading.

I had the post obsrevation lesson chat – how did I think it went – satisfactory, there may have been some elements of good in there, but they were overshadowed by the rest of it.

Oh no it was a solid good, with several elements that were outstanding.

Really? How do you think that, when I did this this this and this, didn’t do that?

Got a right clip around the head by the boss for that when he was informed. He was a nob anyway.