For Board of Trustees Chair Erin Roth, no word better describes her reaction than 鈥渟peechless鈥� after receiving that the school had now been rated 鈥淥utstanding鈥� by the Office for 黄色电影s in Education after their inspection Nov. 14-16. Previously receiving an overall rating of 鈥淩equires Improvement鈥� after inspections in December 2021, the school earned the highest merit 鈥淥utstanding鈥� this year. The school was among hundreds of schools in the country who lost their 鈥淥utstanding鈥� rating that year, according to .
Head of School Matthew Horvat, who assumed his role July 2023, said the 鈥淩equires Improvement鈥� ranking 鈥渨asn鈥檛 a place where the school wanted to be.鈥� Horvat said Ofsted officials revisited the school in October 2022 and affirmed that the school had met standards, creating confidence that the school could gain a higher rating during an official inspection.
Communication with inspectors
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Roth said the December 2021 inspection was unusual because inspectors had come during the last week of school before winter break. She said her understanding was complaints from the Department of Education prompted inspectors to arrive, and it was apparent that the inspection 鈥渄id not feel as positive.鈥�
Furthermore, Roth said she attended two meetings with inspectors in November. She said the recent inspection signaled a tonal shift.
鈥淐ommunication was very positive,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淭hey were professional. They asked questions, you know, they’re knowledgeable. That鈥檚 the feedback we got, as well from employees and faculty.鈥�
Mahalia Eddy (鈥�24) was among several students who were interviewed by Ofsted in November 2023. She said one of the inspectors asked her questions about how supported she felt to pursue her interests. Eddy said she believed the purpose of the questions was to gauge her personal connection to the school.
鈥淚 think she was trying to assess that the school made us feel comfortable and recognized,鈥� Eddy said.
Horvat said the inspection felt fair and the inspectors seemed well-informed.
鈥淚 didn’t get the sense from them that they had any, you know, preconceived ideas about how the inspection was going to go,鈥� Horvat said. 鈥淭hey were really, like, looking for evidence.鈥�
Improvements implemented
In 2021, the school failed three standards: quality of education, personal development and leadership and management.
Roth said Director of Teaching and Learning Jennifer Kirstein demonstrated 鈥渢errific leadership鈥� in spearheading curricular changes to adhere to Ofsted鈥檚 standards. Among these efforts was political impartiality training of all staff members which was meant to enhance students鈥� spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
鈥淥ne of the criticisms by Ofsted was that student voice wasn’t always allowed to be developed because, in some instances, some teachers were presenting their own political views,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淲e did training for teachers on that and that’s something that is ongoing.鈥�
In addition to political impartiality, Roth said Ofsted advised the school to make changes to the curriculum.
鈥淭he report mentioned multiple times that the school needed to make sure that it was providing subject-specific knowledge to students throughout the entire course of K-12,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淩eview of the curriculum was a high priority for the school.鈥�
Horvat echoed Roth and said having specific curricular decisions in writing was critical.
鈥淲e have a pretty well-documented curriculum, and it’s documented in an application called Atlas,鈥� Horvat said.
Moreover, Roth said the leadership and management standard is contingent on all other merits. If the school fails one of the standards, it automatically fails the leadership and management standard too.
Eddy said, from her perspective, it was clear that the school had implemented substantial changes.
鈥淲e followed the steps that they gave us and now we have a really good result from that,鈥� Eddy said.
Switch to the Independent Schools Inspectorate
The school is shifting from the Office for 黄色电影s in Education to the Independent Schools Inspectorate for future inspections. Both bodies work under the same guidance from the Department of Education.
Horvat pointed to ISI鈥檚 17-page report of TASIS England on his desk, comparing it to Ofsted鈥檚 report which contains two pages of feedback. He said part of the reasoning for switching to ISI was simply due to their extensive feedback and knowledge regarding specific international school pedagogy, such as the Reggio Emilia approach implemented in the Lower School.
鈥淭hey give you a much better report that you can use and say 鈥極kay, this is super specific and areas that we can improve upon,鈥欌�� Horvat said. 鈥淭he inspectors have a greater familiarity with the program we have.鈥�
Roth said, in terms of values, the ISI more directly aligns with the school.
鈥淭he ISI will work with a school in a way that is very ASL, like, it’s more of a growth mindset,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淭hey provide a lot of resources that you can use.鈥�
Reflecting on process
Eddy said she was proud to see the school recognized for its efforts.
鈥淚 was quite pleased,鈥� Eddy said. 鈥淎SL is a good school, and I also am pleased that they, like, saw that it had improved and followed Ofsted guidance.鈥�
Horvat said going into the inspection he hoped the school鈥檚 rating would improve, and the final results exceeded his expectations.
鈥淕oing into the inspection when I got the call on Monday, I was just like, I hope we get 鈥楪ood,鈥� because there are four levels, right, and below outstanding is good,鈥� Horvat said. 鈥淣ow that we got 鈥極utstanding,鈥� that’s wonderful for the school.鈥�
Ultimately, for Roth, the new rating marks a turning point.
鈥淣ow we can look ahead,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淚t feels like we’re turning the page to the future.鈥�
