Why is Ofsted relevant?
In the assessment criteria adopted by Ofsted to examine schools, considerations have been added to take into account the views of students. The self-evaluation forms (SEF) which teachers are asked to complete for inspectors look for evidence of teachers taking into account the feedback of their students when planning lessons. Ofsted inspectors also ask pupils for their views about different aspects of school management, to include in their report. Schools are therefore partly assessed by Ofsted according to the levels of pupil involvement. It is therefore implicit that schools are expected to encourage, to a certain extent, the inclusion of students in key decision-making processes. What are schools currently doing to incorporate students’ views into their strategies and plans? Many schools have started to include the views of students in management decisions, to varying degrees of ambition. The establishment of student councils, in particular for upper-school or sixth form, is a popul
