Deep Dive in Every Subject: Full Curriculum Set

Save over 30% compared to ordering individually!

 

What? 

A huge bundle set containing guidance on what an Ofsted deep dive entails and how you can utilise a similar internal process in your own subject monitoring and curriculum quality assurance. It contains multiple comprehensive templates, including:

 

1. Deep Dive and Subject Evaluation Audit templates for every subject - there are over 100 deep dive questions in each individual audit document, allowing you to explore the facets of each curriculum subject based on your setting's current needs. You can use these to conduct a deep dive yourself, share responsibility amongst your team or work with individual subject leaders, providing them with a brilliant CPD opportunity to learn about subject monitoring and what happens in an Ofsted deep dive. The subjects covered are:

• English
• Maths
• Science
• Art and Design
• Citizenship (secondary only)
• Computing
• Design and Technology
• Geography
• History
• Languages
• Music
• PE
• PSHE, RSHE and RSE
• RE

Please note that because there is a lot of content within the English curriculum, these packs are further split into Primary Reading and Phonics, Primary Writing, SPAG and Spoken Language, and Secondary English and Drama. Not all packs feature in our image previews for this product, but they are all included in your purchase.

 

Together with your team, you can utilise the questions, which are separated into primary and secondary sets for most subject areas, to reflect on the current picture of teaching and learning in your school. Many subject leads find it useful to practise these types of questions with other leaders to build their own confidence in preparation for an Ofsted deep dive, so this can be a really beneficial process to support.

 

2. Subject Knowledge Question Banks - content-specific questions for each subject that cover both primary and secondary questions. They’re perfect if you want to explore the finer details of subject knowledge in your chosen deep dive area(s).

 

3. Deep Dive Process Overview - use and duplicate this template to structure your internal deep dive for each subject, working through the process of identifying your perceived strengths and weaknesses, observation and questioning, and creating a plan of action. 

 

4. Deep Dive Evidence Exploration - a handy place to collate all your observation notes when conducting a deep dive, including observing lessons, talking to pupils and looking through workbooks, folders and other evidence.

 

5. Conducting a Deep Dive Guidance Document - if you've never been through a deep dive before, this document talks you through the process. It includes considerations you may want to make when running your own internal deep dives over a much longer time frame than the 1-2 day inspection period, as Ofsted themselves state.

 

What sorts of deep dive questions will Ofsted ask?

The specific answer to this will depend on your setting and what an observer sees in practice. Our deep dive audits offer many different questions that cover the following themes:

• Curriculum intent and design
• Integration, consistency and professional development
• Curriculum implementation
• Curriculum impact
• Enrichment and extracurricular activities
• The leadership of that subject
• Questions for senior leaders
• Questions to ask teachers of that subject
• Questions for pupils about their learning and aspirations

 

Who? 

This pack is geared towards those with overarching responsibility for the whole curriculum, such as headteachers, trust leaders, senior leaders, curriculum leads, quality of education leads or anyone else with responsibility for overseeing the entire curriculum. This is because all curriculum subjects are covered in this huge pack, as opposed to our smaller bundles which cover just one subject each.  

 

How long? 

Start as soon as you download the pack, and use it as part of your monitoring and evaluation schedule. You may choose to plan out the internal monitoring process over a year or even a couple of academic years, based on your school's current needs and improvement priorities.

 

When? 

If you’re a new leader or you’ve never gone through a deep dive process (either internal or conducted by Ofsted) before, this pack will walk you through the steps of what this looks like in practice and what questions your school could be asked in a deep dive. Even if you're a more experienced leader, it can be useful to revisit your curriculum's intent, implementation and impact as a form of monitoring and quality assurance, and this deep dive pack is perfect for that. The audits for each subject are all set up in a similar format, allowing you consistency in monitoring across your school or trust. Regardless of how you intend to use them, you don’t have to wait to be due an Ofsted inspection to benefit from this pack - it’s useful at any time to explore the strengths and weaknesses of your curriculum.

Why? 

Knowing you and your staff team may have to go through an Ofsted deep dive can cause feelings of stress, anxiety and worry, especially if you’re thinking about what questions Ofsted will ask and how you and your subject leaders will answer. This pack supports that thinking process and gives you the chance to coach and upskill your team in the types of questions Ofsted will ask, which can build their confidence hugely and make them realise they do understand the subject they lead.

 

However, it’s not just about preparing for an Ofsted inspection or doing things because Ofsted might want to see them - it’s about understanding the picture of your subject and knowing its strengths and weaknesses so you can get amazing outcomes for all of your pupils. If staff can't answer questions in certain areas or if you find gaps when conducting an internal deep dive, you'll be best placed to formulate your next steps in the form of an action plan, which will help to ensure improvement for all.

 

Key questions answered:

• What is a deep dive?

• What is the purpose of Ofsted’s deep dives into areas of your curriculum?

• What does an Ofsted deep dive look like?

• Why might I want to conduct my own internal deep dive?

• Who should I involve in an internal deep dive?