The Ofsted Education Inspection Framework basically serves the function of inspection or investigation through various procedures, improvement strategies, assessment designs or many other approaches. The sole purpose is to inspect various institutes, organizations, schools as well as academies etc.
Self-Assessment
This framework is now more focused towards the self-assessment rather than mere inspection. The Ofsted Education Inspection Framework presents a specific structure to certain questions of your interest. The self-assessment does not necessarily needs to be of a certain format. Any organization can design this assessment as it likes according to its own requirements. However, it is important to note that the purpose of self-assessment should not just be inspection, because this framework could prove quite more beneficial and could be more provocative if disassociated from inspection.
When the framework is used for the mere purpose of self-assessment, less attention is given to the outcomes based on achievement, while more emphasis is attached to the progress. Moreover, it is also used to establish strategies related to quality improvement. This framework provides convenience and a great opportunity to everyone that is somehow related to the education.
Improvement Strategies
They could easily review quality improvement strategies which aids in telling all the important aspects as well as the useful methods that could be used to initiate self-assessment. When every area of self-assessment and inspection has enough clarity, it would be easy for the people to understand and predict change. Moreover, people would have clarity of other areas as well e.g. progress.
Self-assessment should not be a once a year activity, rather it should be a continuing and a never ending phenomenon to implement quality strategies and bring improvement. Deep dive review is a unique feature and a software design which performs the specialized tasks of a quality improvement specialist.
Ofsted framework is yet another approach towards collecting the evidence. However, organizations should focus more on this approach i.e. Ofsted framework as a foundations for supporting improvement. The emphasis should not be just on the deep dive review for inspection of improvement.
In some countries, this whole procedure is often termed as enquiries which includes certain action and research activities. This enquiry approach challenges the thinking of the clients by implementing change. This challenging aspect of enquiry policy is quite effective.
Enquiry approach in consolidation with the deep dive review helps users to view and control the risk areas as well as aids them in being more creative towards the world of education.
Bringing it into practice, it works via scheduling a series of enquiries all over the year. The focus of the enquiry could be any certain area, for example risk factors. The enquiry focuses on the quality improvement plan for the previous year and your current plans and improvements strategies. An eye is put on existing data and initial assessments. Keeping in view the existing data and assessments gives a clear view about the area of focus.
Moreover, if you want the enquiry approach to yield positive results, the approach needs to be investigated thoroughly and repeated thoughts should be given to it again and again. If the enquiry approach is investigated only once, it will never give authentic results. The most focus is on the self-assessment which is a never ending process that helps staff to learn from their own mistakes.