Preparing for Ofsted: History

Carl Smith

24^+VATHTML on CD-ROMJan 06978 1 84070 549 2

Are you ready?

Ofsted inspections continue to place considerable pressure on schools. Thanks to the short notice period, it is essential to be as prepared as possible at all times. This means that all staff have an important role to play – including heads of department.

Meeting your obligations

Ofsted’s requirements include a strong emphasis on self-evaluation and on the Every Child Matters agenda. Preparing for Ofsted: History is provided on a CD-ROM and forms an ideal starting point for any History department.

Gather essential evidence

The information your school needs to complete its self-evaluation form (SEF) for Ofsted depends on a thorough departmental self-evaluation. This resource offers guidance on how you can demonstrate your department’s strengths and weaknesses and its capacity to improve.

Help with paperwork

Guidance and support is provided on key issues for both you and your colleagues, and the resource also includes numerous tables, forms and handouts to help you record evidence and keep staff informed and organised. These are provided as a range of supplementary digital files, each of which can be edited to suit your department’s particular needs.

Contents

The resource is divided into the following main sections:

• Background – The main features of Ofsted inspections and the implications for the History department.
• Self-evaluation – The importance of self-evaluation, along with practical guidance on all the issues concerned.
• Evidence – Guidance on collating appropriate evidence to support your department’s evaluation, and prepare for the inspector’s visit.
• During – Advice on lesson observations and on discussions with inspectors for staff and for pupils.

In addition, there is a Resources section, which offers a selection of publications and other resources that staff may wish to read, together with useful Web sites. It also contains links to all the digital files as well as a printable version of the onscreen content.

Special price

The Preparing for Ofsted series was published in response to the previous Ofsted Framework, introduced in September 2005. However, the principles underpinning Ofsted inspections remain virtually unchanged at the departmental level and any head of department will find a wealth of useful material.

These CD-ROMs are now available at the special price of just 24^+VAT per title. This price includes a full site licence, meaning that all the material can be copied and distributed within your institution.

Contents

• Introduction
• Background
• Self-evaluation
• Evidence
• During
• Resources
• Index