The SecEd Podcast: School inspection & Ofsted

This episode tackles Ofsted school inspections, offering practical insights and tips – large and small – for secondary schools to help you thrive when the inspectors call.

Three experts offer a wealth of advice including some simple tenets of best practice for preparing for and handling Ofsted.

Our advice covers the 90-minute phone call, what needs to be in place pre-inspection, being 'Ofsted-ready' without burdening staff, and what data you need to have in place.

We offer tips for hosting the inspection team and managing the two days, including the emotional stress. We discuss protecting staff wellbeing and workload before and during inspection.

We highlight trends from recent inspections, including the issues inspectors are asking schools about. And we discuss what you can do if things are going wrong, including how to challenge inspectors.

Finally, we give you a sneaky hack for how you can predict when your inspection is due...