Corporate report

Ofsted Board minutes: 3 February 2021

Updated 28 July 2022

Applies to England

Present

Christine Ryan (Chair) Hamid Patel
Amanda Spielman (HMCI)
Pamela Scriven
Kathryn August Martin Spencer
John Hughes Carole Stott
Laura Wyld Venessa Willms
Julie Kirkbride
John Cridland

Deputies

Lisa Pascoe (Deputy Director, Regulation and Social Care Policy – from item 6)

Also in attendance

Matthew Coffey (Chief Operating Officer)
Sean Harford (National Director, Education)
Yvette Stanley (National Director, Social Care)
Louise Grainger (Director, Finance, Planning and Commercial)
Chris Jones (Director, Corporate Strategy)
Lucy Mayor (Corporate Governance Officer)
Lesley Jones (Department for Education - observer)
Karen Shepperson (Director, People and Operations – item 12)
Anna Trethewey (Head of Strategy – item 12)
Colin Moloney (Governance Manager – item 12)
Joy Howick (HMI, Social Care – item 12)

Apologies

Briony Balsom (Head of Corporate Governance and Internal Insight)

Status

Approved. Submitted for approval at the Board meeting on 21 April 2021.

Welcome, apologies and declarations of interest

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting.

Martin Spencer declared his position as audit committee member at the London Fire Brigade.

Minutes, matters arising, action log and forward look

The minutes of the December board meeting were agreed with no amendments.

The formal note from January’s Board update call on remote visit arrangements between 25 January and 15 February was agreed without comment.

Update from Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI)

Most inspections will take place remotely until February half term in line with current government advice. Inspectors will go onsite if there are concerns, such as issues around safeguarding.

The current government restrictions will be reviewed on 15 February, and this will be used to determine whether to move back to on-site arrangements after February half term.

The Board commented on the large volume of contacts received on remote learning. All contacts have now been administered and processes are in place for any genuine complaints. A waiver will be issued to progress significant concerns.

Board members welcomed the request from the Department for Education (DfE) for Ofsted to inspect the new early career framework and national professional qualifications (NPQs) for teachers from September 2021. There are currently no plans for Ofsted to inspect social work training.

Update from the Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Nine schools HMI have been deployed to DfE until the end of the spring term. The inspectors will provide analytical insight on issues related to COVID-19 in each of the regional REACT teams. Nine EYRIs will provide support on a part time basis.

The COO attends the DfE planning team meetings to discuss arrangements for schools reopening. We are also supporting the department with early plans for COVID-19 recovery, including catch up on missed learning.

Update from the National Director, Social Care

The Board welcomed the announcement that the independent review into children’s social care has now been announced by DfE, led by Josh Macalister. Ofsted’s response to the call for advice on the review will be circulated to Board members for information.

As part of a deep dive into Ofsted’s regulation of children’s homes and the sector, the Board noted:

• A high proportion of children’s homes are run by private companies, with the 10 largest providers owning 30% of all children’s homes.
• There are challenges with the market, including shortages of secure children’s home places. As part of the Care Review, work will be done with the local tier to ensure the system better supports the needs of children.
• The volumes of notifications received by Ofsted have been sustained during the pandemic. Most of our regulatory work in children’s homes continues on-site.

Update from the National Director, Education

Inspectors are continuing to conduct monitoring inspections of the weakest providers in schools, focusing on the action’s leaders are making to provide education currently, including the remote learning offer.

Plans for return to inspection are ongoing. Arrangements are subject to schools reopening on 8 March, as time will be needed to pilot inspections and amend handbooks prior to returning in full in the summer term.

The school inspection improvement programme (SIIP) was paused during COVID-19 with resource refocused towards restart planning. The programme has now resumed.

Update from the Director, Corporate Strategy

The Board noted the positive feedback from the sector on messaging over recent months, including the publication of a short guide on what works well in remote education.

Board members will discuss strategic priorities for the next 12 months at the April meeting.

Strategic risks register

The Board reviewed the strategic risks register. The external review into what can be learned from the operational changes made within Ofsted due to COVID-19 has been completed. Executive Board met to agree the recommendations in January.

Finance update

The Board noted the finance report. The costings of external and internal deployments from April to November 2020 will be circulated to the Board outside the meeting for information.

Spending review update

The Board noted the outcome of the spending review.

Audit and Risk Assurance Committee update

The Committee provided feedback on the interim governance statement at the January meeting. The interim governance statement forms the basis of the full year statement included in the ARA.

Bullying, harassment, and discrimination recommendations

The Board explored the recommendations to address bullying, harassment, and discrimination across Ofsted. Ofsted’s People Survey scores demonstrate a consistently low number of instances in these areas, considerably lower than the average across the civil service.

Work is being done to increase awareness of these issues through a revised training offer. There will be more investment in line management training to ensure managers are addressing issues consistently.

Any other business (AOB)

Board members will be invited to attend a session on the Board’s role and the Corporate Governance Framework.