Secondary English Deep Dive and Subject Knowledge Bundle

A bundle pack containing guidance of what an Ofsted deep dive entails and how you can utilise a similar internal process in your own subject monitoring. It contains four comprehensive templates:

1. Secondary English and Drama Deep Dive and Subject Evaluation Audit - over 100 deep dive questions about English and Drama to ask stakeholders, including senior leaders, subject/department leaders, teachers and pupils. As Drama or English department lead, you can utilise these to reflect on the current picture of English and Drama in your school and explore specific areas, such as reading, writing, spoken language, grammar, linguistics and performance. Many English / Drama leads find it useful to practise them with other leaders to build their own confidence in preparation for a English Ofsted deep dive.

2. Secondary English and Drama Subject Knowledge Question Bank - content-specific questions for English and Drama covering KS3 and KS4. They’re ideal if you’re wanting to explore the finer details of staff members' English or Drama subject knowledge.

3. Deep Dive Process Overview - use this to structure your internal deep dive or shallow dive in secondary English and Drama, 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 English lessons or Drama sessions, asking pupils about their learning in English and Drama, and looking through any English work, drama performance recording or other evidence.

English or Drama department leaders, especially those who are new  subject leads or those who are second in department, will find this pack extremely useful when monitoring teaching and learning, or if preparing for an Ofsted deep dive in English or Drama.

Curriculum leaders, senior leaders or headteachers will also find the pack beneficial, whether they use it to conduct a deep dive themselves or support their Drama and English leader to prepare for an Ofsted inspection.

Knowing you may have to go through an inspection with a focus on English or Drama can cause feelings of stress, anxiety and worry, especially if you’re thinking about what questions Ofsted could ask about writing, reading, spoken language or performance and how you’ll answer. This pack supports that thinking process, especially if you work alongside other leaders to consider what makes great teaching and learning in English and Drama and how your school does or doesn’t do this. 

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 excellent outcomes for all of your pupils. It’s also important to know that even if you conduct an internal deep dive and find there are gaps, you can use this to formulate your next steps in 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?
• What questions will Ofsted ask in an English and Drama deep dive?

Deep dive packs for all other national curriculum subjects are available from Honeyguide. Even better, if you buy two or more packs, you get 20% off each one - perfect for if you lead multiple subjects or want to get together with other subject leader colleagues to get more value.

Core Subjects:

• Primary English (Reading and Phonics) Deep Dive 
• Primary English (Writing, SPAG and Spoken Language) Deep Dive
• Secondary English Deep Dive
• Maths Deep Dive
• Science Deep Dive

Foundation Subjects:

• Art and Design Deep Dive
• Citizenship Deep Dive
• Computing Deep Dive
• Design and Technology (DT) Deep Dive
• Geography Deep Dive 
• History Deep Dive 
• Languages / MfL Deep Dive
• Music Deep Dive 
• Physical Education (PE) Deep Dive 
• PSHE, RSHE and RSE Deep Dive
• Religious Education (RE) Deep Dive 

Looking for every deep dive pack in one bundle?

If you're a head, senior leader, trust leader or hold responsibility for the full curriculum, our Deep Dive in Every Subject: Full Curriculum Set is the best value-for-money option to purchase all 16 packs.

• Deep Dive in Every Subject: Full Curriculum Set

If you lead the Early Years Foundation Stage, this EYFS Deep Dive pack can help you to explore your EYFS provision in-depth and build confidence for an upcoming Ofsted inspection or deep dive.