There is a lot of information (evidence) in the GVO that will be very useful during any OFSTED inspection.
One technique that has been used very successfully is to have an ongoing 'OFSTED Evidence Pack' in the GVO that can be sitting 'ready to go'. This pack is created using the GVO Meeting Pack functionality which means that there is no duplication of documents and all the evidence is there. There is a quick guide at the end of this section.
Below are the steps to create the 'OFSTED Evidence Pack' - this does need to be maintained periodically to ensure that the content is 'current'.
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Create a New Event in the GVO Calendar - with the title something appropriate like 'OFSTED EVIDENCE' or something. Set the meeting as an all day event, either for the date of the Inspection (if known) or for a date in the future, such as 1st day of term. You can select a '2nd folder location' and apply access controls as appropriate.
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Use the big 'free text' area to provide any context for your Inspector - you could include your vision, values, mission, constitution and so on. It is also good practice to add a paragraph about how the Governing board uses comments and approvals as evidence of holding their leaders to account etc. See example below...
3. Just as you would for a meeting, go through and add links to anything you would like to include in the Evidence Pack - Board & Committee Meeting Minutes, SIP, SEF, Monitoring Reports, Visit Reports, HT Reports, Training Reports etc etc. By using links you ensure there is only ever one version of a file, and the Inspector will also see any comments, approvals, discussion and so on - excellent evidence of your Governors performing their duties
4. The benefit of setting this up as a Calendar Event means that you (or indeed your Inspector) can download the whole pack into PDF format, should this be required. You are also not creating anything additional or duplicating any work, simply linking the files that you anticipate the Inspector will need. Going forward you will simply need to edit the event to add links to anything new - for example another set of minutes or a new report, and changing the date. The Inspector will have everything they need via one event, rather than having to look elsewhere for it. This then becomes a once a month job to maintain!
5. We also recommend that you add a new user profile into your GVO (inspector@) for example (you will need a valid email address for this). The profile can be set as 'Inactive' until you know of the Inspection date when you can change it to being a 'Reader' for the duration of the Inspection. The email address for this account and password should be managed by the school.
NOTE: The alternative to giving the Inspector GVO access (and needing to check access within GVO) is to create the PDF from the OFSTED PACK and add it to a Memory STick to give to the Inspector,
