The ‘Ofsted Education Inspection Framework (EIF)’ sets out Ofsted’s inspection principles and the main judgements that inspectors will make from September 2019.
The EIF should be read alongside the ‘School Inspection Handbook’ which describes the main activities carried out during inspections and outlines the commitments schools should make to online safety.
Behaviour and attitudes
The judgement focuses on the factors that research and inspection evidence indicate contribute most strongly to pupils’ positive behaviour and attitudes, thereby giving them the greatest possible opportunity to achieve positive outcomes. This includes:
paragraph 202 | p.52-53
- an environment in which pupils feel safe, and in which bullying, discrimination and peer-on-peer abuse – online or offline– are not accepted and are dealt with quickly, consistently and effectively whenever they occur.
Personal Development
This judgement focuses on the dimensions of the personal development of pupils that our education system has agreed, either by consensus or statute, are the most significant. This includes:
paragraph 218 | p.58-59
- enabling pupils to recognise online and offline risks to their well-being – for example, risks from criminal and sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, substance misuse, gang activity, radicalisation and extremism – and making them aware of the support available to them.
- enabling pupils to recognise the dangers of inappropriate use of mobile technology and social media
Safeguarding
All schools should have a culture of safeguarding. This means they should have effective arrangements to:
- always act in the best interests of children, pupils and students to protect them online and offline
[In addition, the EIF requires Inspectors to be familiar with the ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2021’ statutory guidance document]
An Online Safety Advisor will be in touch within 24 hours
