Effective PSHE "is more crucial than ever" to Ofsted judgements

Effective PSHE is "more crucial than ever" to the outcomes of school inspections, according to Ofsted’s national lead for PSHE education.

Janet Palmer has written an article exploring the relevance and importance of PSHE, citizenship education and pupils’ SMSC development under the new Common Inspection Framework, which will guide inspection policy and practice from September.

The guidance is free to download from the PSHE Association website. In it, Janet picks out the most relevant points from the following documents:

• The Common Inspection Framework: education, skills and early years
  (this handbook sets out how Ofsted inspects maintained schools and academies, non-association independent schools, further education and skills provision and registered early years settings in England)
• The School Inspection Handbook
  (this is the handbook for inspecting schools in England under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. It sets out what inspectors must do, what schools can expect, and provides guidance for inspectors on making judgements)
• Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years, Education and Skills Settings
  (this is guidance for inspectors undertaking any inspections under the common inspection framework)

Janet concludes: "It is clear from the range of inspection guidance for September 2015 that the evidence schools provide regarding the effectiveness of their PSHE and citizenship education, and of pupils’ SMSC development, is more crucial than ever to informing the judgements inspectors make regarding leadership and management, the quality of teaching and learning, personal development, behaviour and welfare, safeguarding and ultimately, the overall effectiveness of the school."