Ofsted Inspection: Personal Development (+ All Ofsted Cribsheets)

If you've landed here, chances are you're preparing for an Ofsted inspection. As ex-teachers, and Personal Development experts, we want to make sure you're feeling ready to take on whatever Ofsted brings, and that's why we've collected some of the most helpful information from across the web to help you prepare the the big day. This article will cover:

What are Ofsted looking for as part of Personal Development?

As Personal Development is an umbrella term for many different areas of school life, what Ofsted are looking for can also be broken down into many different curriculum areas, inlcluding PSHE, RSE, RE, British Values, Protected Characteristics, SMSC, Prevent and much more. However, in general, when inspecting Personal Development Ofsted inspectors will be looking at a school's intent to cover the PD curriculum, and the quality of this work. They know and recognise that it is impossible to judge the impact of a Personal Development curriculum while pupils are currently in school so instead they will look be asking:

How is the school/setting developing:

Responsible, respectful and active citizens who are able to play their part and become actively involved in public life as adults
Pupils’ understanding of the fundamental British values of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and mutual respect and tolerance
Pupils’ character, which Ofsted defines as a set of positive personal traits, dispositions and virtues that informs their motivation and guides their conduct so that they reflect wisely, learn eagerly, behave with integrity and cooperate consistently well with others
Pupils’ confidence, resilience and knowledge so that they can keep themselves mentally healthy
Pupils’ understanding of how to keep physically healthy, eat healthily and maintain an active lifestyle, including giving ample opportunities for pupils to be active during the school day and through extra-curricular activities
Pupils’ age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships through appropriate relationships and sex education

How is the school/setting promoting:

Equality of opportunity so that all pupils can thrive together, understanding that difference is a positive, not a negative, and that individual characteristics make people unique
An inclusive environment that meets the needs of all pupils, irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation

How is the school/setting enabling:

Pupils to recognise online and offline risks to their wellbeing – 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
Pupils to recognise the dangers of inappropriate use of mobile technology and social media

How is the school/setting supporting:

Readiness for the next phase of education, training or employment so that pupils are equipped to make the transition successfully

Where are the 'Ofsted crib sheets?'

The majority of the leaked Ofsted cribsheets (also known as Ofsted Aide Memoire) were sourced and were shared by Paul Garvey, another advocate for pupil voice, on Twitter. You can access them from his shared Google Drive, here. However, the Ofsted crib sheet for Personal Development was only ever shared in image form and not as a printable document. You can find the image here. However, the text was extremely blurry and many teachers could not use to to help them prepare for an Ofsted visit. To combat this, we've played around with photoshop to clear up the image, and have re-written the Personal Development Cribsheet as a PDF file that you can download below.

download cribsheet

Personal Development / PSHE Deep Dive Questions and Answers

There are a range of questions that Ofsted inspectors could ask while looking at the Personal Development offering in your school. To help you plan for an upcoming inspection, The Key worked alongside an education consultant and headteacher of 9 years to create lists of questions that could be asked to governors, senior leaders, teachers and pupils:

How are pupils involved in the life of the school?
What difference do the opinions of pupils in this school make to the decisions made by senior staff, teachers or governors? Can you give me an example of how the opinions of pupils in the school are sought and acted upon?
What is behaviour like around the school? Are there any places where pupils feel unsafe or less safe?
How does the school assist pupils in combating harassment and bullying? What evidence is there of improvement?
What would the teachers do if they heard someone using a derogatory term? Can you give me an example/case study?
How does the school help pupils to become active citizens, both in school and in wider society? What is participation in these activities like?
What do you understand by the term ‘fundamental British values’?
How do the curriculum and extra-curricular activities promote pupils’ British values? How do you monitor the impact of this? Where would I be most likely to see examples of this being taught?
Can you show examples [e.g. in minutes of meetings] of where the teaching of British values has been discussed by governors and teachers?
Can you give examples of how British values are promoted in the culture and ethos of the school?
What specific steps have been taken to improve pupils’ behaviour and learning with respect to the development of British values?
How and where does the school monitor and evaluate pupils’ preparation for life in modern Britain? What does this information tell you about how well pupils have developed an understanding of each of the British Values?

What happens when a pupil misbehaves? Does this generally stop them doing it again?
Does the school’s destinations information support the statement that ‘pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment’?
How/what do pupils learn about world faiths and religions, and people of no faith or religion?
Can you show evidence that all staff have recently had training on the Prevent strategy?

How are pupils involved in the life of the school?
How do you ensure that the children in this school learn about what it is like to be in different communities, beyond their immediate experience?
How does the school help pupils prepare for the next stage of education, training or employment? How effective is this?
What is behaviour like around the school? Are there any places where pupils feel unsafe or less safe?
How does the school assist pupils in combating harassment and bullying? What evidence is there of improvement?
What specific steps have been taken to improve pupils’ behaviour and learning with respect to the development of British values?
What happens when a pupil misbehaves? Does this generally stop them doing it again?
How do you make sure pupils can recognise online risks?
How do you protect pupils from harm?
Does the school’s destinations information support the statement that ‘pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment’?
How and where does the school monitor and evaluate pupils’ preparation for life in modern Britain? What does this information tell you about how well pupils have developed an understanding of:

· The values of democracy

· The rule of law

· Individual liberty

· Mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths or no faith?

What would the teachers do if they heard someone using a derogatory term? Can you give me an example/case study?
How/what do pupils learn about world faiths and religions, and people of no faith or religion?
How do staff engender a fair and unprejudiced approach on the part of the pupils?
Where will I see equality of opportunity and appreciation of diversity most effectively taught/ delivered in the school?
Can you show examples [e.g. in minutes of meetings] of where the teaching of British values has been discussed by governors and teachers?
Can you give examples of how British values are promoted in the culture and ethos of the school?
How do teachers plan their lessons to include strategies and resources that reflect the diversity of cultural experiences in modern Britain?
Can you show evidence that all staff have recently had training on the Prevent strategy?
What difference do the opinions of pupils in this school make to the decisions made by senior staff, teachers or governors? Can you give me an example of how the opinions of pupils in the school are sought and acted upon?
How and where do pupils have the opportunity to discuss different points of view? How do teachers make sure that different viewpoints are valued?
How does the school help pupils to become active citizens, both in school and in wider society? What is participation in these activities like?
What do you understand by the term ‘fundamental British values’?
What differences would you expect to see in pupils who had developed such values?
How do the curriculum and extra-curricular activities promote pupils’ British values? How do you monitor the impact of this? Where would I be most likely to see examples of this being taught?
How do you develop pupils’ character, confidence, resilience and knowledge so they can keep themselves mentally healthy?
How do you know pupils understand how to keep physically healthy and have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships?

How does the school help pupils to become active citizens, both in school and in wider society? What is participation in these activities like?
What do you understand by the term ‘fundamental British values’?
What differences would you expect to see in pupils who had developed such values?
How do you develop pupils’ character, confidence, resilience and knowledge so they can keep themselves mentally healthy?
How do you know pupils understand how to keep physically healthy and have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships?
How do staff engender a fair and unprejudiced approach on the part of the pupils?
Where will I see equality of opportunity and appreciation of diversity most effectively taught/ delivered in the school?
Can you give examples of how British values are promoted in the culture and ethos of the school?
How do teachers plan their lessons to include strategies and resources that reflect the diversity of cultural experiences in modern Britain?
When did you last receive Prevent training? What impact has it had on your practice in terms of teaching and learning?
What difference do the opinions of pupils in this school make to the decisions made by senior staff, teachers or governors? Can you give me an example of how the opinions of pupils in the school are sought and acted upon?
How and where do pupils have the opportunity to discuss different points of view? How do teachers make sure that different viewpoints are valued?
How/what do pupils learn about world faiths and religions, and people of no faith or religion?
What would the teachers do if they heard someone using a derogatory term? Can you give me an example/case study?
How are pupils involved in the life of the school?
How do you ensure that the children in this school learn about what it is like to be in different communities, beyond their immediate experience?
What is behaviour like around the school? Are there any places where pupils feel unsafe or less safe?
How does the school assist pupils in combating harassment and bullying? What evidence is there of improvement?
What specific steps have been taken to improve pupils’ behaviour and learning with respect to the development of British values?
What happens when a pupil misbehaves? Does this generally stop them doing it again?
How do you make sure pupils can recognise online risks?
How do you protect pupils from harm?

What happens when a pupil misbehaves? Does this generally stop them doing it again?
How does the school assist pupils in combating harassment and bullying? What evidence is there of improvement?
What is behaviour like around the school? Are there any places where pupils feel unsafe or less safe?
How does the school help pupils prepare for the next stage of education, training or employment? How effective is this?
What would the teachers do if they heard someone using a derogatory term? Can you give me an example/case study?
How are pupils involved in the life of the school?
How and where do you learn about different faiths or religions? What have you learned recently? Can you show me in an exercise book what you did?
What is it like to be a pupil in this school? What are the best things about it? What could be better?
What/how has the school taught you about each of the British values?
What difference do the opinions of pupils in this school make to the decisions made by senior staff, teachers or governors? Can you give me an example of how the opinions of pupils in the school are sought and acted upon
How and where do pupils have the opportunity to discuss different points of view? How do teachers make sure that different viewpoints are valued?
Do you feel that your teachers would value your opinion if it were different to theirs?

Where else can I find information to help prepare for Ofsted?

One of the best things about teaching is the community that has been created amongst those working in schools. There is no other profession whereby people are so keen to share knowledge and help eachother, and when it comes to Ofsted, there is a wealth of information ready to be found.

There are dedicated Facebook groups for PSHE leaders in Secondary and Primary Schools where resources, advice and experiences are shared daily, which we'd recommend all PSHE leaders to join. There are also groups and websites dedicated to Headteachers where you can anonymously ask questions to nearly nine thousand other heads.
If your school is subscribed to The Key, you can access their pre-inspection checklist here (or start a free trial!)
If you use a scheme or work or programme, chances are they have a lot of advice and helpful information on hand regarding their resouces and Ofsted inspections. It is worth reaching out to them and asking for any suppot, especially when you are aware of which areas will be part of a deep-dive.
For SEMH provision providers preparing for Ofsted, Bounce Together has created this incredibly detailed guidance including likely questions and helpful documents that you will want to have to hand ready for inspection.

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03 Jul 2024

Ofsted Inspection: Personal Development