Cleverbox Ofsted Website Checklist

OFSTED READY

WEBSITE CHECKLIST

FOR ACADEMIES, FREE SCHOOLS & SIXTH FORM COLLEGES

EXPERTS IN BRANDING & WEBSITES FOR SCHOOLS

WEBSITE CHECKLIST 

Every academy, free school and sixth form colleges must publish specific information on its website to comply with The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations.

We’re all aware that Ofsted inspectors spend time before or during an inspection reviewing content on your school website. But with little notice of an impending visit, keeping your site up-to-date could save time and hassle during that all important Ofsted visit countdown!

In this guide you will find:

ESSENTIALS: A checklist of statutory information which is required to be present on your website

DESIRABLES: A checklist of recommended content for your website

PERFECTION: Tips to enhance your school website

ESSENTIALS

 ACCESSIBILITY PLAN FOR DISABLED STUDENTS

Schools must comply with the requirements under paragraph 3 of Schedule 10 in the Equality Act 2010 and publish (reviewed every three years) how the school is:

† Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school’s curriculum

† Improving the physical environment for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils are able to take advantage of education and benefits, facilities or services provided or offered by the school

† Improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled

SUGGESTED LOCATION

Policies / SEND

 ADMISSIONS ARRANGEMENTS SUGGESTED LOCATION

Publish a summary of the admissions process for the whole of the offer year (reviewed annually) including:

† Application process

† Open days

† Details on priority applications Academy Schools admissions arrangements are required to comply with the school admissions code and school admissions appeal code (N/A for sixth form colleges)

 ANNUAL REPORTS, ACCOUNTS AND FINANCIALS

Publish the following financial information:

† Annual report

† Annual audited accounts

† Memorandum of association

† Articles of association

† Names of charity trustees and members

† Funding agreement

† Information on the number of school employees with a gross annual salary of £100,000 or more in increments of £10,000

† A link to the School’s website page on the Schools Financial Benchmarking website https://schools-financial-benchmarking. service.gov.uk/

Sixth form colleges should publish information on the following:

† Their instruments and articles of government

† Their annual members’ report and audited financial statement every year

Admissions

SUGGESTED LOCATION

Financial Information

 BEHAVIOUR POLICY SUGGESTED LOCATION

† Policy for behaviour including anti-bullying strategy (recommended to be reviewed annually)

Policies / Behaviour

The following information outlines the statutory requirements academies, free schools and sixth form colleges should publish on the website.

 CAREERS PROGRAMME INFORMATION FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS SUGGESTED LOCATION

Publish information about the school’s careers guidance to year 8 to 13 pupils including:

† Contact details including the name, email address and telephone number of the school’s Careers Leader

† Summary of the school’s careers programme, including details of how pupils, parents, teachers and employers may access information about the careers programme

† How the school measures and assesses the impact of the careers programme on pupils

† The date of the school’s next review of the information published

† Circumstances in which providers of technical education and apprenticeships will be given access to year 8 to 13 pupils.

 CHARGING AND REMISSIONS POLICIES

Publish the school’s charging and remissions policies (recommended to be reviewed annually) including:

† The activities or cases where the school will charge pupils’ parents

† The circumstances where the school will make an exception on a payment, which is normally expected to receive under the school’s charging policy



† Policy for complaints procedure (recommended to be reviewed annually)

† Policy for Whistleblowing (for academies and sixth form colleges)

† The school’s arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) about the support the school provides

Careers

† School/College name

† Postal address

† Telephone

† Name of the member of staff who deals with queries from parents and other members of the public

† Who to contact to request a paper copy of the information on the website (this must be supplied free of charge)

† Name of Headteacher / Principal

† Name and address of the chair of the governing body

† Name and contact details of the SENCo (N/A for sixth form colleges and special schools)

Academies are required to publish details about the academy sponsor:

† If the school’s owner is an individual, publish their full name and contact details (address and a telephone number)

† If the school’s owner is a group or organisation, publish the address and telephone number of its office

 CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) CATCH-UP PREMIUM

If the school received the coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium grant for the 2020 to 2021 academic year, publish the following information:

† How it is intended that the grant will be spent

† How the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school will be assessed

SUGGESTED LOCATION

Policies / COVID-19 Catch-Up Premium

 CURRICULUM SUGGESTED LOCATION

† The content of the school’s curriculum in each academic year for every subject including mandatory subjects

† How parents or other members of the public can find out more about the curriculum the school is following

† How the school is complying with duties in the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 with making the curriculum accessible to those with disabilities or special educational needs

† The names of phonics or reading schemes the school is using (Key Stage 1)

† A list of the courses available to pupils including GCSEs (Key Stage 4)

† How the school meets the 16-19 study programme requirements (Key Stage 5)

 EQUALITY OBJECTIVES SUGGESTED LOCATION

Schools must comply with the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, and publish the following information (reviewed every four years):

† Information of how the school complies with the public sector equality duty - updated annually

† The school’s equality objectives - updated at least every 4 years

† How the school is eliminating discrimination (Equality Act 2010)

† How the school improves equality of opportunity for those with protected characteristics

† How the school consults and involves individuals affected by inequality in the decisions the school takes to promote equality and eliminate discrimination e.g. pupils, staff, parents, members of the community

Policies / Equalities and Additional Intervention

 ETHOS AND AIMS STATEMENT SUGGESTED LOCATION

† Statement of the school’s ethos and values

Ethos and Vales

 EXAM AND ASSESSMENT RESULTS

Display the most recent performance measures as published by the Secretary of State (2018 to 2019 performance measures until new performance measures are published). Schools are not required to publish exam and assessment results from 2019 to 2020 academic year.

Key Stage 2 Results

Display information from the primary performance tables and headline measures including:

† Progress scores in reading, writing and maths

† Percentage of pupils who achieved at least the expected standard in reading, writing and maths

† Percentage of pupils who achieved at a higher standard in reading, writing and maths

† Average ‘scaled scores’ in reading and maths

Key Stage 4 Results

Display information from the secondary performance tables and headline measures including:

† Progress 8 score

† Attainment in English and Maths - percentage of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths

† Attainment 8 score

† Percentage of pupils that enter the English Baccalaureate (EBacc

† Average point score for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc)

† Percentage of pupils staying in education or going into employment after key stage 4 (pupil destinations).

Key Stage 5 Results (16-18)

Display information from the 16-18 performance tables and headline measures including:

† Attainment measures

† Progress measures

† Progress students have made in English and Maths

† The average grade students get at 16 to 19 study

† Student ‘retention’ (the percentage of students who get to the end of their study programme)

† Student ‘destinations’ (the percentage of students who continue to education, training, or employment)

 GOVERNORS’ / TRUSTEES’ INFORMATION AND

Publish the Governors’ Handbook or the following information:

† The structure and remit of the school’s governing body

† Details of the school’s committees

† Names of all Governor’s including the Chair

† Information regarding Governing Board diversity data

 OFSTED REPORTS

† Copy of the school’s current Ofsted report or a link to the report as published on: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/

Exams & Key Stage Results

Exams & Key Stage Results

Exams & Key Stage Results

Governing Body

 PE AND SPORT PREMIUM FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS SUGGESTED LOCATION

If the school receives PE and sport premium funding, publish the following information:

† How much funding the school received for the academic year

† A full breakdown of how the funding has been spent

† The impact of the PE and sport premium on sport participation and attainment

† How the school will make these improvements sustainable in the future

Number of pupils within the year 6 cohort that can do each of the following:

† Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres

† Use a range of strokes effectively

† Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations

Policies / PE and Sport Premium

 PERFORMANCE TABLES SUGGESTED LOCATION

† Link to the school’s DfE Performance tables as published on: https://www.gov.uk/school-performance-tables

Performance Tables

 PUPIL PREMIUM SUGGESTED LOCATION

Schools are advised to update the online strategy statement by the end of the autumn term each year to reflect plans for the academic year after assessing the needs of pupils, both new and existing. The school may wish to plan pupil premium use over 3 years. An optional pupil premium strategy statement template is available on https://www.gov.uk/

† Publish a strategy for the schools use of the pupil premium

† For the current academic year the school must include:

• the school’s pupil premium grant allocation amount

• a summary of the main barriers to educational achievement faced by eligible pupils at the school

• how the school will spend the pupil premium to overcome those barriers and the reasons for that approach

• how the school will measure the effect of the pupil premium

• the date of the next review of the school’s pupil premium strategy

† For the previous academic year the school must include:

• how the school spent the pupil premium allocation

• the effect of the expenditure on pupils

Policies / Pupil Premium

 REMOTE EDUCATION SUGGESTED LOCATION

† Publish information about the school’s remote education provision. An optional template is available on providing remote education information to parents on https://www.gov.uk/ Remote Learning

 REQUEST FOR PAPER COPIES SUGGESTED LOCATION

† If a parent requests a paper copy of the information on the school’s website, this must be provided free of charge Contact

 SCHOOL OPENING HOURS SUGGESTED LOCATION

† School opening and closing times, with the total amount of hours required per week

† Highlight the compulsory start and end times of the school day (including any breaks throughout)

 SCHOOL UNIFORM

Publish your school uniform policy (this can be in the form of a download or a text page on your website) and ensure the following is included:

† Any differences between required and optional items of uniform

† If a piece of uniform has to be branded (for example, a jumper with your school logo) or if a generic item can be worn

† Whether a piece of uniform should be worn in specific weather conditions (for example, summer and winter clothing)

† If any uniform that can only be purchased via a single retailer (ensure to provide the contact details for said supplier)

 SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES (SEND)

† Publish the school’s annual policy for pupils with SEND (reviewed annually). The policy must be updated to reflect any changes made throughout the year. The Policy must comply with:

† Section 69 of the Children and Families Act 2014

† Schedule 1 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014

† Section 6.79 to 6.82 of the SEN and Disability code of practice 0 to 25 years

The Policy must contain the following information:

† The arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils

† The steps the school has taken to prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably than other pupils

† The facilities the school provides to help disabled pupils to access the school

 YEAR 7 LITERACY AND NUMERACY CATCH-UP PREMIUM

If the school received year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium funding for the 2019 to 2020 academic year, publish the following information:

† How the school spent the allocation for that year

† How the school’s use of the allocation made a difference to the attainment of pupils who benefit from the funding

The 2020 to 2021 academic year will be the last year on which schools must report how this funding was used.

Parents / About Us

LOCATION

Key Information / Parents

LOCATION

Policies / SEND

LOCATION

Policies / Literacy and Numeracy

Catch-Up Premium

DESIRABLES

 STATUTORY POLICY CHECKLIST FOR FREE SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES MUST BE PUBLISHED ONLINE SUGGESTED LOCATION

† Admissions arrangements

† Charging and remissions

† Data protection

† Protection of biometric information of children in schools and colleges

† Register of pupils’ admission to school and attendance

† School Information published on a website

† School complaints

† Capability of staff

† Early career teachers (ECTs)

† Staff discipline, conduct and grievance (procedures for addressing)

† Single central record of recruitment and vetting checks

† Statement of procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse against staff Policies

† Accessibility plan

† Child protection policy and procedures

† Children with health needs who cannot attend school

† Designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children

† Early years foundation stage (EYFS)

† Special educational needs and disability

† Supporting pupils with medical conditions

† Relationships education (primary) and relationships and sex education (secondary)

† Behaviour in schools

† School exclusion

At Cleverbox we suggest the following content to enhance your school website.

† Health and safety

† First aid in schools

† Premises management documents

† Equality information and objectives (public sector equality duty) statement for publication Policies

† Register of business interests of headteachers and governors

† Careers guidance: details of the careers programme and a provider access statement

 GENERAL SUGGESTED LOCATION

† British values

† Facilities hire

† Staff list Information

† Safeguarding and child protection

Policies

† School prospectus Admissions

† Staff vacancies Vacancies

 GOVERNORS SUGGESTED LOCATION

† Names and profiles for each governor

† Dates for meetings

† Attendance records Governors

 STUDENTS SUGGESTED LOCATION

† Year 6 transition information

† Code of conduct

† Links to educational sites

† Links to emotional support sites

† After-school clubs / extra curricular activities

† Exam information

Students

 PARENTS SUGGESTED LOCATION

† 16-19 tuition fund

† Attendance and punctuality

† Assessment and reporting

† Safeguarding and online safety

† Pupil exclusion information

† Letters home (downloadable)

† Uniform list and suppliers (downloadable order form)

† Lunch menu (menu, cost, free school meals)

† Information about the PTA / Parents Forum

† Parents feedback page

Parents

 NEWS AND DATES

† News articles

† Newsletters News

† Calendar events Calendar

† Term dates Calendar / Parents

† Times of the school day Parents

 SIXTH FORM

† Alumni

† Dress code

† How to apply

† Leavers Destinations

† Results

PERFECTION

Top tips to make sure you have a great school website:



† Remove out of date information/external links and hide ‘under construction’ pages

† Keep main navigation sections to a minimum using clear titles

† Avoid long drop down menus, instead, keep information in subsections

† Keep all news up to date - we suggest weekly posts

Calendar

† Avoid making viewers download a document for a small piece of information, copy it into the web page

† Offer downloadable versions of information where possible

† Keep the font, text sizes and heading styles provided consistent throughout the website

† Avoid typing in CAPITALS

† Avoid underlining text, as it may be confused with a hyper-link

† Use high resolution photography

The Cleverbox Ofsted checklist for academies, free schools and sixth form colleges is correct to the best of our knowledge as of December 2022. This checklist should be used as a reference guide only, and Cleverbox takes no responsibility for the compliancy of any school website, unless it is contractually maintained by us. For full details of the Ofsted website requirements, please visit the .Gov.Uk website.