1. Readiness for Inspection
Copthorne Hotel
Friday 18 November
Readiness for Inspection
Dilys Williams
Section 50 Inspector

2. What this talk covers: (A) What I look for, and do, in an Inspection
and therefore….
(B) What you should do to get ready for me

3. (A) My work The things I do Walking into your school
Your Vision, Mission & Ethos
The Key Questions

4. Meet: The things I do senior leadership Estyn governors
parents/guardians
teachers/TAs
RE/CW coordinator
clergy
children

5. Examine: The things I do relevant documents relevant policies
Website
Examine:
relevant documents
relevant policies
Vision, Mission & Ethos
SoWs
monitoring & evaluation
tracking & assessment
performance data
children’s work
Previous Section 50 Report
Estyn SE Report
School Improvement Plan
Section 50 SE Report
Parents Questionnaire

6. Examine: The things I do relevant documents relevant policies
Vision, Mission & Ethos
SoWs
monitoring & evaluation
tracking & assessment
performance data
children’s work RE CW
Spiritual development
behaviour

7. Examine: The things I do relevant documents relevant policies
Vision, Mission & Ethos
SoWs
monitoring & evaluation
tracking & assessment
performance data
children’s work
Christian based

8. Examine: The things I do relevant documents relevant policies
Vision, Mission & Ethos
SoWs
monitoring & evaluation
tracking & assessment
performance data
children’s work
whole school RE

9. Observe: The things I do atmosphere displays/symbols behaviour
relationships
collective worship(s)
teaching/lessons

10. Walking into your school
name
Christian symbol
diocese
LEA
strap-line

11. Walking into your school

12. Vision, Mission, Ethos
When I spend time in your school, will I learn that:
the headteacher’s vision is known by all the staff and shared by them
they were consulted in its formulation
it is overtly Christian in concept
it is inspiring
the school’s mission statement is known by all the staff and shared by them
it is a true reflection of what happens at the school
it fosters a Christian character for the school
the school’s ethos is a truly Christian one
it is the ethos of all the staff
it is recognisable throughout the school
the children are nurtured, protected and encouraged by it

13. Will I see this being lived out?
relationship with God
relationship with Jesus
prayer & reflection
At Worship
care for God’s creation
involvement with community
empathy with other cultures, faiths
respect for each other
eagerness to learn
good behaviour
At School
At large
At Home
love for parents and family
home-school support
taking home what is learned at school

14. The 4 Key Questions 1. Christian character 2. Collective Worship
4. Leadership
3. Religious Education

15. The 4 Key Questions
In each Key Question, the FIRST ASPECT provides the focus for the judgement.
The inspector ‘s overall judgement grade for each Key Question is never higher than the working judgement grade for the first Aspect of that Key Question
(1.1, 2.1 etc).
This is important because data from some previous inspections has shown that less important elements within the Key Question have been graded highly and this has biased the overall judgement grade.

16. The 4 Key Questions Inspector’s Judgement Grade Record Key Question
Aspect
Grade
(E, G, A, U) 1
How well does the school, through its distinctive Christian character, meet the needs of all learners?
1.1 Impact of the school’s Christian
character on learners’ achievement
1.2 Christian Values
1.3 Spiritual, moral, social and cultural
development
1.4 Character of the school community
1.5 Understanding of and respect for
diverse communities
1.6 Religious Education (if it is not being
inspected specifically under Key Question 3)
OVERALL GRADE FOR KEY QUESTION 1

17. The 4 Key Questions Inspector’s Judgement Grade Record Key Question
Aspect
Grade
(E, G, A, U) 2
What is the impact of the collective worship on the school community?
2.1 Impact of collective worship
2.2 Central attributes of collective
worship
2.3 Centrality of prayer and reflection
2.4 Theological basis of collective
2.5 Leadership and management of
collective worship
OVERALL GRADE FOR KEY QUESTION 2

18. The 4 Key Questions Inspector’s Judgement Grade Record Key Question
Aspect
Grade
(E, G, A, U) 3
How effective is the Religious Education?
3.1 Evidence of progress, achievement
and attainment in Religious
Education
3.2 Quality of teaching & learning in
Religious Education
3.3 Quality of the Religious Education
curriculum
3.4 Effectiveness of leadership and
management in Religious Education
OVERALL GRADE FOR KEY QUESTION 3

19. The 4 Key Questions Inspector’s Judgement Grade Record Key Question
Aspect
Grade
(E, G, A, U) 4
How effective are the leadership and management of the school as a church school
4.1 Impact of Christian leadership
4.2 Evaluation and strategic planning
4.3 Leadership development
4.4 Partnership with key stakeholders
OVERALL GRADE FOR KEY QUESTION 4

20. The 4 Key Questions Inspector’s Judgement Grade Record
Current Performance
Prospects for Improvement

21. Excellence..... In any of the four KQs –
What will make a school EXCELLENT?
Excellence.....
1. comes from the top
2. is reinforced by SLT
3. is delivered by staff
4. is owned by all
5. is embraced by the learners
6. becomes instinctive

22. (B) Your work Getting your policies in place
Getting your “atmosphere” in place
Getting your Vision, Mission & Ethos in place
Getting your thoughts on the Key Questions in place
Getting your documents in place

23. Your work Getting your policies in place: RE CW spiritual development
behaviour

24. Your work Getting your “atmosphere” in place:
environment – grounds, entrance, hall, classrooms
signs, symbols, displays
prayer corners, etc
relationships

25. Your work
Getting your Vision, Mission & Ethos in place

26. Your Vision Vision - focused in the future - where you want to get to
- always just out of reach
- goes far beyond your Mission…
- … but retains alignment with your Ethos
- is Christian based

27. Your Vision Examples of Vision Statements…… NISSAN
Nissan’s vision is to enrich people’s lives
The Nature Conservancy
Our vision is a world where the diversity of life thrives, and people act to conserve nature for its own sake
Oxfam
Our vision is a just world without poverty. 

28. Your Mission Mission statement -
a statement of what you DO for your stakeholders
(pupils, parents, governors, LEA, community)
It explains why you exist,
what you do,
for whom you do it
It must be closely linked with HOW you do it
- ie, your ETHOS

29. Your Mission Examples of Mission Statements…… NISSAN
Nissan provides unique, innovative automotive products & services that deliver superior, measurable values to all stakeholders
The Nature Conservancy
The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.
Oxfam
The mission of Oxfam is o create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger and social injustice

30. Your Ethos
 Ethos: “the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature and guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution”.
Ethos – encapsulates your morals, character, beliefs
and for a Christian school – must be Christian based
 Aristotle:
Ethos – an appeal to ethics
Pathos – an appeal to emotion
Logos – an appeal to logic

31. Your Ethos Examples of a school’s statement of its Christian ethos:
Learning to love God, one another and ourselves.
Educating children in a Christian family environment.
In God we believe, together we achieve.
Statements such as these can be the “strap-lines” of the school

32. Your work Getting your thoughts on the Key Questions in place
1. Christian character
2. Collective Worship
4. Leadership
3. Religious Education

33. KQ1 Christian character praise & encourage
focus on improving attainment
relationships
praise
& encourage
whole community
caring, Christian ethos, values
Christian character
S,M,S,C
development,
well-being
signs & symbols
commitment & passion

34. links to values, curriculum
KQ2
Christian based
links to values, curriculum
central to school life
leadership & planning CW
centrality of prayer
pupil participation
theology
singing,
music

35. RE KQ3 quality of curriculum & SoW knowledge & skill
focus on achievement
other faiths
standards of teaching
quality of curriculum & SoW
knowledge & skill RE
leadership& planning
assessment & evaluation
use of data

36. KQ4 leader-ship impact on whole school vision Christian based
staff development
leader-ship
distributed,
partnerships
governors, clergy, parents
attainment & achievement
SIP

37. KQ4 using your personal power to win people’s hearts and minds
Leadership:
using your personal power
to win people’s hearts and minds
to get them working towards a common goal
If you’re a Leader, people will want to follow you

38. Your work Getting your documents in place: Previous Section 50 report
SIP
Parents Questionnaire
Website
Prospectus
Section 50 SER