Getting Ready for OFSTED: Intent, Implementation and Impact

How We Prepared for a Deep Dive Inspection in Mathematics

As a Head of Mathematics, I recently went through a deep dive inspection of my department. This rigorous process involved inspectors observing lessons, reviewing student work, and interviewing staff and students.

In preparation for the inspection, I wrote a curriculum overview to summarise our intent, implementation, and impact. This blog post will share some of the key points from that overview.

Intent

Our intent is to create a mathematics curriculum that is both engaging and challenging. We want students to develop a love of learning mathematics and to be able to use their mathematical skills to solve problems in the real world.

To achieve this, we have developed a skill-based scheme of work that promotes problem-solving, and resilience and ensures full curriculum coverage. We monitor its implementation through weekly learning walks and termly faculty development observations.

We also want students to develop a growth mindset so they are not afraid to take risks and make mistakes. We provide them with prolonged thinking time, top-down differentiation, and personalized feedback.

Implementation

We implement our curriculum through a variety of strategies, including:

• Embedding quality teaching and learning: We use a variety of assessments for learning strategies to promote student engagement and understanding. We also provide personalized written feedback to help students identify and correct their misconceptions.
• Supporting teachers to deliver excellence: We provide regular support and training to help them develop their skills and knowledge. We also have a process in place to monitor and review teacher performance.
• Measuring the impact of our curriculum: We use various data to measure the impact of our curriculum, including student exam results, extended written work, and teacher observations.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum is evident in the following areas:

• Student achievement: In the past three years, our department has produced the most improved exam results in the school’s history. We have seen an increase in the number of higher grades and a decrease in the number of low grades.
• Student understanding: Students can now articulate reasoned mathematical arguments more effectively. They are also better at solving problems independently.
• Student engagement: Students are more engaged in mathematics lessons than ever before. They are more likely to ask questions and participate in discussions.

Overall, we are very proud of our curriculum’s impact on student learning. We are committed to continuing to improve our curriculum and to ensuring that all students have the opportunity to succeed in mathematics.

Conclusion

I hope this blog post has been helpful for other Heads of Mathematics preparing for a deep dive inspection. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.