Corporate report

Ofsted Board minutes: 20 September 2023

Updated 19 March 2024

Applies to England

Present

Dame Christine Ryan (Chair)

Amanda Spielman (HMCI)

David Meyer

Carole Stott

Jo Moran

Jon Yates

Hamid Patel

Frank Young

Martin Spencer

Laura Wyld

Executive attendance                                

Matthew Coffey (Chief Operating Officer)

Louise Grainger (Director, Finance, Planning and Commercial)

Mark Leech (Director, Strategy and Engagement)

Alex Jones (Director, Insights and Research) 

Chris Russell (National Director, Education)

Yvette Stanley (National Director, Regulation and Social Care)

Observer

Roger Cotes (Department for Education (DfE))

Also in attendance

Richard Kueh, Deputy Director, Research and Evaluation (meeting item: relationships, sex, health education (RSHE) update)

Neil Greenwood, Director, Digital and Operations (meeting item: strategic dashboard)

Jonathan Bennett, Deputy Director, Communications (meeting item: strategic dashboard) 

Senior Strategy Analyst (meeting items: strategic dashboard, strategic priority: accessible and engaged and strategic risk report)

Executive support

Board Secretary

Corporate Governance Officer

Status

Approved at the board meeting on 13 December 2023.

Welcome, apologies and declarations of interest

Apologies were received from Chris Hanvey and Felicity Gillespie.

Laura Wyld declared that she is on the panel that will recommend candidates to be members of the Independent Honours Committee: Parliamentary and Political Service Committee Members.

Minutes, matters arising and action log

The minutes of the last board meeting were agreed as a correct record, subject to one minor amendment to paragraph 11.2.

The action to arrange a stakeholder mapping exercise will remain open until a suitable date is secured.

HMCI and executive update

The board received an update on all areas of Ofsted’s work since the last board meeting, including priorities for the coming months. Topics discussed included education settings with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), school attendance, and the Education Select Committee inquiry into school inspection.

The board commended the recently published reports, ‘Best Start in Life Part 2’ and the ‘T-level thematic review’ as important in terms of impact and as an indication of how Ofsted acts in the interests of children. The executive will consider ways to promote this message further.

The board considered the analysis of the alignment between school performance data and Ofsted inspection judgements which showed that alignment between education inspection framework judgements and school outcomes is broadly similar to the level recorded under the previous framework, providing reassurance that the link between performance outcomes and inspection grades has not materially changed. ^{[footnote 1]}

The relationship between performance data and Ofsted judgements continues to be monitored routinely and reported on in the annual report. The underlying analysis will continue to be brought to the board for discussion.

The correlation between quality of education and behaviour is important data information for schools to be aware of. It was confirmed that a separate piece on behaviour was due to be published this month.

Finance update

Ofsted’s financial position at the end of period 4 was noted.

The chair summarised board concerns about the implications of the unfunded pay guidance for Ofsted’s budget and spending priorities, coming as it does on top of many years of budget reductions:

• Actions taken to absorb the pay rise and other cost increases may achieve the required savings to balance the budget this year, but this is a short-term fix that is likely to store up cost pressures for next year and beyond

• Many parts of the DfE regulatory system, including actions following a requires improvement or inadequate rating, rely on Ofsted inspection judgments. A high level of assurance on the reliability of inspection judgements is therefore needed, but will be compromised if inspection itself and the activities that support inspection quality are further constrained

• The DfE often commissions, and separately funds Ofsted to carry out ad hoc projects and research, for example, the work on T levels and the review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. However, as the Ofsted budget is progressively constricted, it is losing its capacity for independent discretionary work, which provides insight on themes of national importance emerging from its inspection and regulatory work.

The chair described these as systemic issues that need to be considered fully by the DfE, including in its own risk assessments. The DfE observer thanked the chair for the summary and gave assurance that it would be communicated to ministers.

RSHE update

The board received an update on the government review of RSHE in schools.

Strategic dashboard

The strategic dashboard and progress on the implementation of strategic priorities was noted.

Strategic priority: accessible and engaged   

The board reviewed progress with the implementation of the strategic priority, ‘accessible and engaged’.

The board was briefed on efforts to build a greater understanding of Ofsted’s role and work; was made aware of new platforms to reach audiences, and activities to ensure management information and official statistics are accessible.

The chair sought assurance that how we engage with social care stakeholders is included in the assessment of progress with the implementation of this strategic priority. The board was informed that quantitative measurement of feedback from focus groups and sector events is being explored. The chair stressed the importance of the board having this insight and information.

Strategic risk report

The board noted the changes to the strategic risk register since its last meeting.

The board discussed the audit and risk assurance committee (ARAC) workshop to be held in October. The chair recommended simplifying the strategic risk register ratings to make clearer which risks are of greatest concern. The board supported the workshop’s aim to develop a clearer hierarchy of strategic risks, to review how impact is assessed and how risks are ranked, and to gain a clearer sense of prioritisation. The board will be updated on workshop outcomes at its next meeting.

ARAC update

At its meeting on 14 September ARAC reviewed the strategic risk register, the financial position and agreed that a review of the committee’s effectiveness would be undertaken.

AOB

The next meeting is scheduled for 13 December.

1. This analysis has now been published. ‘Schools commentary: Alignment between inspection grades and headline data measures’, Ofsted, November 2023. ↩