Challenge, Evidence, Impact and the New Ofsted Scorecard

As we start a new academic year it is easy to be overwhelmed by the number of things to do! So, it is important to prioritise and use your time effectively. 

Ensuring governance has an impact on challenging and supporting school and academy improvement is critical and, importantly, so is having clear records of where challenge has occurred and the actions and outcomes that have resulted.  In my work with schools and trusts I have witnessed a school being rated “requires improvement” because although governors discussed underachievement in Maths, the minutes did not track actions for required improvements, with clear timescales and responsibilities. It was therefore difficult for governors to evidence they were making the necessary impact. Of course, there will be other documents such as notes of governor visits and governor “check points” in the development plan that can provide context, but minutes of governor meetings are used by Ofsted to understand the story of how governors understand the priorities for their school improvement, and how they challenge and track achievement.

Evidencing impact: what does a challenging question look like?

In reviewing your minutes, it is useful to put yourself in the place of someone who was not at the meeting, like an Ofsted inspector.  Are the minutes clear in showing how governors have robustly discussed the priority areas in the school and established what actions will be taken, by whom and when/how the impact will be evidenced? Do not be shy to highlight challenging questions in your minutes, they focus the mind!

What does a challenging question mean? Challenging does not mean undermining the school leadership or causing embarrassment, questions should seek out evidence to support what you have been told or seen and should provide a way of tracking improvements. Also remember the importance of ensuring that time allocated in the meeting matches the priorities of the school and focuses on strategic improvements.

Focus forward, not backward

When I provide leadership and governance support to schools I frequently find too much time being spent discussing what happened at the last governors’ meeting, querying actions and who should have been responsible. In the best meetings I observe, minutes are issued within 48 hours, and actions are taken and reported well before the next meeting. Important ongoing issues can be an agenda item in their own right and the meeting should simply approve the accuracy of the last set of minutes, normally as the final agenda item. This process is aided by minutes that focus on capturing succinct information and actions that are forward looking.

The Ofsted scorecard is coming — are you ready?

From November 2025, we will start to see the new Ofsted scorecard introduced with its wider range of school performance measures. Ofsted inspectors have previously taken differing approaches to the scrutiny of governors' minutes. However, with the new scorecard it is very likely that they will want to see evidence of how governors are gaining confidence that all aspects of the Ofsted judgement are being achieved. KCSIE already suggests that safeguarding is a standing item on all staff and governors’ meetings. But with the new Ofsted Inspection Framework, it is worth considering whether all evaluation areas should be standing items on a governors’ meeting agenda or can be specifically evidenced under an existing item – for example inclusion, curriculum & teaching and achievement might be grouped together. There are clearly aspects of the framework that have additional current scrutiny, such as inclusion and attendance/behaviour, so ensure discussion around these are highlighted. Remember to ask yourself the question whether it would be clear to a reader where these items were discussed and what was decided!

It is all too easy to dismiss the new Ofsted framework as irrelevant to what is important in your school but ignoring it is like saying “I don’t need to pass a driving test as I am an outstanding driver and know the roads near me better than any inspector”! Evidencing that you have used the framework to support your school improvement benefits everyone and makes an Ofsted inspection far easier. All governors should look at the Ofsted toolkits, published at the start of the year and revised through consultation, and consider attending one of the one hour Ofsted engagement events – which will also be available as a recording on the Ofsted YouTube channel. Being prepared is being pre-armed. 

Final thought: capture the challenge

So, don’t be overwhelmed by the challenges of the coming year, understand the requirements of the new Ofsted framework and ensure all your hard work and challenges are captured in the minutes of your meetings.

If you’re interested in finding out more about how to show impact in your minutes - the tools within Scriba have been designed to highlight challenges and to meet the needs of the education sector. Get in touch if you would like to see how this works in practice.