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Insight: Getting Ready for Independent School Inspection with ISI
Preparing for an Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspection can be a challenging yet crucial task for school leaders. Ensuring that your school meets the high standards expected during these inspections…
Unlocking Excellence: Power of an External Governance Review
Effective governance is crucial for the success of schools and academies, ensuring that they provide high-quality education and meet the needs of their students. An external governance review offers an…
Insight: New Era for School Ofsted Inspections 2025
The draft Ofsted framework set to be introduced in November 2025 marks a significant shift in how school Ofsted inspections will be performed and schools will be evaluated. This new…
Insight: Approaching Alternative Provision Curriculum Development
Alternative provision (AP) plays a crucial role in supporting students who are unable to thrive in mainstream education due to various challenges such as social, emotional, or behavioural issues. Alternative…
Insights: Pathological Demand Avoidance Guide for Teachers
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a profile on the autism spectrum characterised by an extreme avoidance of everyday demands and an anxiety-driven need to be in control. Understanding PDA is…
Pedagogical Pulse: Teacher’s Guide to Metacognition
Metacognition, often described as “thinking about thinking,” is a crucial component of effective learning. It involves self-awareness and self-regulation of one’s cognitive processes. For teachers, fostering metacognitive skills in students…
Inspection Spotlight: Preparing for an Ofsted Inspection in Special Schools
Preparing for an Ofsted Inspection in Special Schools: A Guide for School Leaders Preparing for an Ofsted inspection can be a daunting task, especially for special schools where the needs…
Pedagogical Pulse: Embracing Responsive Teaching, a New Era in Education
In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, responsive teaching has emerged as a transformative approach, tailoring learning experiences to meet the diverse needs of students. This method leverages technology and innovative…
Pedagogical Pulse: Adaptive Teaching with Amanda Ross-Scott
Essential information on Adaptive Teaching at a glance… Having an adaptive learning environment is important in today’s classroom. In her recent course, Amanda Ross-Scott shared insightful strategies to make teaching…
Insight : Managing Challenging Conversations with Parents
Working with children and young people is one of the most fulfilling yet demanding professions. As educators, we need to celebrate students’ success, however, there are times when conversations with…
Will the next Ofsted inspection be graded inspection or ungraded ?
Graded Inspections All schools that received an overall effectiveness judgement of ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ before September 2024 will receive a graded inspection Which schools will Ofsted inspect? Section 5…
Ofsted Graded & Ungraded Inspections
How is a section 5 graded inspection different from a section 8 ungraded inspection? Graded Inspections or Section 5 Inspections Ungraded Inspections or Section 8 Inspections
21st Century Learning – 6 key trends in education
Tracing the origin of formal education is not an easy task. The earliest records of formal education vary from place to place. However, the generally accepted first record can be…
F23 ISI Inspection Methodology for 2024
The new ISI Inspection Framework is now in effect, known as Framework 23 (F23), there is a strong emphasis on promoting pupil wellbeing and some significant changes to inspection methodology….
Opinion: The ISI Inspection Myth Buster!
What is involved in an ISI Inspection ? ISI Myth #1. You must show them your Lesson planning ISI Myth #2. ISI will grade your lesson ISI myth #3. ISI…
Why international schools go for BSO Accreditation
BSO Accreditation can provide several benefits, both for the schools themselves and for their pupils. In 2022, ISC Research data recorded a total of 13,180 English-Medium international schools around the…
Ofsted transition arrangement to end : implications for your School
Where did the transition arrangement apply? The transition period was initially created to acknowledge that schools might need time to adjust to the new curriculum focus in Ofsted inspections when…
Literacy opinion: Closing the Vocabulary Word Gap
“Nothing matters more than words.” Geoff Barton (General Secretary, ASCL) Even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were concerns about literacy & vocabulary barriers to the curriculum, with a quarter of students…
How do we prepare children for the future of the work?
When it comes to the future of work, technology is the future. Industries all around the world will be disrupted as technology continues to develop for the future of work….
Opinion: The Ofsted Myth Buster!
What does Ofsted want? Ofsted Myth #2. Ofsted will grade your lesson Ofsted myth #3. Ofsted expect your SLT to observe a certain number of lessons in preparation for inspection…
OFSTED finds that Faith Schools Outperform the Rest
We are specialists in supporting FaithSchools & FreeSchools – if you are a Head or Deputy and would like our help preparing for Ofsted through mock inspection or an audit…
Ofsted update: Sexual harassment in Schools & Colleges
‘Assume sexual harassment is happening in schools’ Ofsted was asked by the government to carry out a rapid review of sexual harassment and abuse in schools and colleges. Ofsted advises…
SLT : Positive Approaches to Stress & Crisis Management
“As a school, we have been dealing with so many changes to policies, but we’re so conscious of focusing on the children and their needs, as they are the most…
Improving School Wellbeing Through Positive School Culture
The last 18 months have been the most challenging that schools can remember. The impact of the pandemic has really taken its toll on the mental and physical health of…
OFSTED Observations ( extracts from Ofsted briefing)
At the start of the lesson thinks about a hook, something to grab their attention. – Not about going through learning objectives, outcomes, assessment criteria etc……..uninspiring……pupils switch off. Trial carried…
Good Teacher Behaviour : What inspectors value
In looking back over previous blogs I found this article about what makes a good teacher and I have decided to repost it as I full agree with the teacher…
How is the Covid 19 Pandemic Impacting Global Education?
Global education has taken an incredible hit since the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2019. Things took such a negative turn that students were unable to study through traditional means. UNICEF…
Teaching: School’s Countdown to September 2020
Post lockdown legacy teaching & learning Many pupils are ready to return to school in September (not to mention their home-schooling parents!), but in the era of post lockdown legacy…
Covid Compliance: Is your MAT , Academy or School Covid Compliant?
As schools across the UK open for all students for the new school year, teaching professionals need guidance on how best to support and protect children and young people. Will…
The revolution has begun: Are you signed up?
In a series of blogs JMC unpick this sea change in CPD and speak to school leaders about the revolution in CPD in their school. A sea change in CPD…
Marking in schools: Feedback or Feed Forward?
Any marking policy must have the students at the heart of it. What happens to all your marking comments? We teachers spend hours and hours marking pupils work, only to…
The 3 theories of ‘thinking’.
Here Joe Warren explains how teachers can get the best from all of the many ‘theories of thinking’ without over thinking it all… How do we think? How do we…
News: School Inspection Service (SIS) closes
Is your school currently inspected by SIS? Are you a Steiner or Faith School? Do you need support in managing the transition from SIS to ISI? What are the key…
News : Ofsted Consultation 2019
Ofsted Consultation Ofsted seeks your views on our proposals for changes to the education inspection framework from September 2019. This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 5 April 2019 Amanda Spielman…
The new kid on the block of Hattie’s Effect sizes…
The greatest effect size when I first started blogging in 2012 was “Feedback” at 1.13, but Hattie has continued to add to his meta-analysis since then and there is a…
Book Review : “A Practical Guide to creating a Culture of Excellence.”
Jonathan Taylor, our guest book reviewer finds leadership ‘addressed in a common sense but insightful manner’ in a read he recommends.
The results are in… JMC’s most popular INSET.
Having reviewed our courses we can present the list of our most popular. All a clear indication of what is emerging as the priorities for school leaders.
Pupil attainment: Sir Michael Wilshaw speech
Find out more about our highly rated INSET courses on raising pupil attainment and progress here Speech by Sir Michael Wilshaw for the Westminster Education Forum
Does longer hours at the chalk face improve Achievement and Pupil Progress?
I felt so incensed by Michael Gove’s call to extend the teaching day in state schools and Daniel Hannan’s article in the Telegraph written in support that I felt the…
Tick box teaching – should teachers start with the learning objectives?
Once upon a time in a not too distant land a group of ex-teachers turned inspectors decided to interpret the research of a group of educational researchers at Kings. They…
What OFSTED Says makes a good teacher (Part 1)
Perhaps I can start by mentioning two teachers to you that I remember from Mossbourne, my previous school. There are many good teachers there. I just want to mention two…
Assessing Progress- how does Ofsted do it?
Find out more about assessing progress and or highly regarded INSET courses on improving progress here
What does an Outstanding lesson plan look like?
As an INSET trainer I get asked this question all the time. When teachers attend courses or are observed by me as part of my consultancy work in schools…