During the mock Ofsted, JMC quickly assessed what our primary needs were and responded immediately.  We feel much better equipped for the task ahead.

Judy Packham, Director, Springboard Education

Mock Ofsted Inspection : Supporting your journey to Outstanding

Taking part in a mock Ofsted inspection is the perfect way to understand how your processes and teams will react and ‘hold up’ during an Inspection, giving you the time to make any necessary adjustments within your organisation based on an honest, critical evaluation of your processes and practices.

Benefits of a Mock Ofsted Inspection by JMC

We provide schools with an inspection service delivered by quality-assured and respected inspectors with high levels of credibility and relevant experience. We have teams of specialists supporting the following types of school, inspected under the Ofsted framework:

State Schools, Colleges & Other Educational Providers:

  1. Faith schools
  2. Free schools
  3. Academies
  4. City technology colleges
  5. State boarding schools
  6. State Special Schools and SEMH Schools
  7. GFE & HE Colleges
  8. Other Educational Providers (including Apprenticeship Providers)

We really found the work you did last year very useful and it’s something we would like to implement on a yearly basis.

Michael Johnson, Vice Principal for Curriculum and Quality, Derwentside FE College

Independent schools:

Non-Association Independent Schools

“ I can’t stress enough how useful the whole process has been for us as a school”

Hannah Pomroy, Deputy Head, Ampleforth College
( Non-Association Independent School)

We support the following:

  1. Independent Special Schools & Colleges
  2. Independent Schools
  3. Independent Faith schools

Please see our additional page for Non-Assocation Independent Schools, Special Schools and Alternative provision.

Unrivalled Leadership Experience in State Schools & Multi-Academy Trusts

All our inspection teams are led by an experienced lead Inspector (LI). The collective depth and breadth of experience of our inspection team is unrivalled. Our LI’s are often former Headteachers, many have worked at Executive level in Multi-Academy Trusts.

Amongst our inspection team are:

  • Former Senior Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI)*
  • Former Ofsted National Subject leads
  • Current Ofsted Inspectors
  • Former Senior Local Authority School Improvement Advisors
  • Former Education Directors of Multi Academy Trusts
  • Former DfE National Leaders of Education (NLE)
  • Former Headteachers & Executive Headteachers

*NB Current HMIs are prohibited by Ofsted from carrying out any school improvement work

The LI will be your first point of contact once you have decided to take advantage of our ‘mock inspection’ service. Although they are referred to ask ‘mocks’ they are designed with school improvement in mind, your lead inspector will act as an informed guide to help your school prepare effectively. Our inspection teams offer a mixture of training, coaching and mentoring throughout the process.

The inspection will encourage both reactive and proactive improvement in the quality of education provided by school

The inspection will help to standardise teaching, enable benchmarking and comparison in improving the quality of teaching and learning.

Has your school, academy or PRU already been visited by Ofsted & placed into a category such as serious weaknesses or special measures?

We can support you in putting together an action plan / submission to the DfE, as well as carrying out an external review or monitoring visit . Find out more here

JMC Post Ofsted Support Team

Pre Inspection Training

Our pre inspection training helps you when preparing for inspection. We will provide a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of your service, focusing on quality of education, safeguarding arrangements, leadership and management in particular.

I would like to say a huge thank you for this ( inspection) training. It has been inspirational and thought-provoking

Steve Jeffery, Headteacher, Our Lady of Sion School

Pre Inspection Audit

Prior to the inspection our team will review your school website, including an agreed list of named policies appropriate to the scope of the inspection, as well as other relevant documentation specified by your Lead Inspector.

Mock 90 Minute Ofsted Educationally Focussed Conversation

If required, we can arrange a ‘mock phone call’ between our Lead Inspector and the Head of the school. Many schools opt for the ‘mock’ phone call as part of a full mock inspection, but it is also a valuable exercise on its own where it usually lasts around 2-3 hours as it is part mock part mentoring from our lead inspector.

The 90-minute phone call is more than an administrative discussion; it will set the tone and inspection trails for the whole inspection. This big picture discussion is pivotal to the direction and outcome of the whole inspection, so it is crucial for headteachers and senior leadership teams to plan and prepare for it in advance. Our mock pre- inspection call is a valuable exercise helping the Head or Principal & SLT prepare for the call as well as using it as a coaching opportunity to learn from our Lead Inspector.

Mock Inspection Visit

Our inspection teams conduct the mock inspections over 2-3 days depending on the size of the school.

The mock inspection can take many forms and these are some areas for which you may be interested for your school:

Quality of Education

Our inspection team will use the Ofsted inspection framework to evaluate teaching, learning and assessment and the outcomes for pupils. The team would visit lessons, discuss the lesson plans and overall schemes of work with Department Heads and the Academic Deputy Head and then meet with a variety of pupils to discuss their views on teaching and delivery.

State Boarding Welfare Audit

If you are a state boarding school you may consider a need for an inspection of your Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools which requires a specialist inspector.  This would include a visit to your boarding houses, meeting your house staff and Pastoral/Boarding Lead and discussing boarding with your Head.  The team would also meet with a group of boarding pupils to discover their views of boarding within your school.

Early Years Inspection for Ofsted Registered Provision

If you have an Ofsted registered early years provision we can organise a specialist and experienced team to evaluate this area of your school to ensure that it fulfils the requirements for the framework (published by the Dept for Education).

We are also able to offer training to your nursery or early years staff in achieving outstanding as an early years provider.

Use of Evidence

The team’s judgements on the education quality criteria are based as far as possible on first-hand evidence and include the following activities:

  • Subject Deep Dives into Curriculum areas such as Maths, English, Literacy / Reading Science or Humanities
  • Observation of lessons and scrutiny of samples of students’ work
  • Consultation with students
  • Discussion with the Governors or Trustees of the school/Academy
  • Analysis of evidence provided by students and staff
  • Analysis of documentary evidence, including performance indicators and self-evaluation
  • Consideration of any significant changes or overt progress over recent years.

Mock Inspection Report

You will receive both verbal feedback and a comprehensive written report which can be presented to the School Governors or Trustees.

The ExSEF: Our Enhanced package includes a review of your SEF (an External SEF) with recommendations related to the inspector’s findings, compiled after the visit.

How much will it cost?

We pay particular attention to team composition ensuring that our staff are suitable given the size and character of the school.

The cost depends on 4 factors:
1. Size of the Inspection Team
2. Number of days
3. Scope of the inspection
4. Nature of the school: E.g. Size, age range, number of sites, provision of Boarding

For a quote or to learn more about our mock Ofsted inspections, then don’t hesitate to get in touch using our enquires form

enquiries@jmcinset.com

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