Greenmount Primary School was one of the first schools to be visited under Ofsted’s new Education Inspection Framework. Headteacher David Griffith speaks with Suzanne O’Connell and shares his experiences of the Section 8 inspection before offering his advice to other schools

It was four and a half years since Greenmount Primary School had had their last Ofsted inspection. Headteacher David Griffith and the governing body of the 250-entry school in Bury were more than aware that it was pending.

And even though they were expecting a Section 8 inspection rather than a Section 5, there is always some anxiety when a new inspection framework is being introduced.

The fear is that recently trained inspectors keen to follow the rule-book and still finding their feet themselves can, on occasions, come down particularly hard on the first schools they inspect. Greenmount was inspected over two days – October 15 and 16 – and was the very first in the Bury local authority area to receive a visit.

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting Headteacher Update and reading some of our content for professionals in primary education. Subscribe now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcasts

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here