Ofsted

Calling all providers and commissioners of supported accommodation 📣 We're hosting free webinars to share the latest updates on our registration and inspection work in supported accommodation. This is your chance to hear directly from our team and ask any questions you may have. Two dates are available: • Tuesday 25 February at 11am • Tuesday 11 March at 2pm Register now 👉 https://lnkd.in/e2H-J4xv

🔍 Our annual survey for children's social care services is now live. If you're a registered provider, you should have received an email with unique survey links for different audiences - including staff, children, and parents. Last year, we received over 48,000 responses, including nearly 8,800 from children themselves - the highest number of responses to date.   The survey takes just minutes to complete but makes a lasting impact on service quality. As a professional in children's social care, your insights are invaluable to helping us improve outcomes for young people. Your responses directly influence our inspection planning and focus. They help us:  - determine inspection timing and priorities  - identify potential risks that need immediate attention  - spot examples of good practice that can be shared across the sector  - build a comprehensive picture of children's social care across England. If you are a provider and have any questions, email us at socialcarepitsurvey@ofsted.gov.uk. Please include the unique reference number (URN) for the provision you are emailing about.

💡 Got questions about our renewed approach to further education and skills inspection? Watch our webinars explaining the changes and what they mean for the FE and skills sector. Our teams talk you through nominee training, toolkits, report cards, what happens on inspection and more. Find and bookmark the playlist here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/d2HXnA9x

💡Got questions about early years inspections? Our new blog post answers FAQs about our renewed framework in early years settings, including: - Who can take on the role of nominee? - What happens on the planning call? - How do shared observations work? Read it now and bookmark to stay up to date ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e-5gHiTd

❓Got questions about further education and skills inspections? Listen to our latest podcast to hear Andrea Dill-Russell, Senior HMI, Post-16 Education, Training and Skills, discuss our new approach to inspections, including the removal of subject deep dives and allowing leaders and inspectors to reflect on each provider’s unique context and its improvement priorities. You can also hear more about: • what happens on the planning call • role of the nominee Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eB45ibEN

❓ Are you planning to register as an early years or childcare provider? We’d love to hear from you! We’re improving the application process for everyone and want to hear from people interested in providing childcare such as a: • nursery • before or after school club • holiday club Taking part means joining an informal online session where we'll talk to you about your experiences. We'd love to hear from as many people as possible. Find out more and sign up: https://lnkd.in/eCRX4aHE

💡 Want to better understand our renewed approach to education inspection? We have plenty of webinars explaining the changes and what they mean for providers: from nurseries, childminders and early years settings to different types of schools, from further education and skills to apprenticeship providers and initial teacher education. Our teams talk you through toolkits, report cards, what happens on inspection and more. All webinars are available to watch on our YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/d2HXnA9x

📵 This week, the Department for Education is tightening its guidance on mobile phones in schools. The new government guidance states that ‘all schools should be mobile phone-free environments by default’.    Ofsted's Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has made it clear that school leaders have Ofsted's full backing to ban mobile phones in their schools. And we know from our inspections that many leaders have already done so, recognising the impact phones have on pupils' attention and learning.    Our new blog sets out how Ofsted already considers schools' existing policies on mobile phones and how we’ll be supporting the guidance through our inspections. ⬇️

❓Got questions about the role of the nominee on school and further education and skills inspections? Listen to our latest podcast on our renewed education inspections where Lee Elliott, Assistant Regional Director, North East, Yorkshire and Humber, and Andrea Dill-Russell, Senior HMI, Post-16 Education, Training and Skills talk with Ofsted colleagues about the role of the nominee and the impact they are seeing the role have on inspections. They also discuss our nominee training videos for each type of setting, which are available on our YouTube channel to support nominees in their role: https://lnkd.in/eZgtTqaM You can also hear more about our key changes to education inspections, including: • the new 5-point grading scale and report cards • what happens on the planning call Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eB45ibEN

We've published a new report about the response of local partnerships and services to children who are affected by domestic abuse with the Care Quality Commission, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and HM Inspectorate of Probation.   Following a joint inspection across 6 local authority areas, it found:   - children who are affected by domestic abuse are not being consistently recognised as victims by the police, social care and health services, despite the introduction of the Domestic Abuse act in 2021 - significant inconsistencies in how local agencies and partnerships identify and support children affected by domestic abuse - information held by different agencies about children, adult victims and perpetrators is not always systematically shared or drawn together - strong practice in relation to unborn babies, with midwives demonstrating professional curiosity, awareness and knowledge of the potential risk of domestic abuse.   The report calls for urgent improvements to ensure children at risk of, or victims of domestic abuse, are better protected and supported. 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/eKfFGAxD