Ofsted Board minutes: 8 December 2021
Updated 28 July 2022
Applies to England
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Present
Christine Ryan (Chair)
Pamela Scriven
Amanda Spielman (HMCI)
Martin Spencer
John Cridland
Carole Stott
Laura Wyld
Hamid Patel
Julie Kirkbride
Venessa Willms
Also in attendance
Matthew Coffey (Chief Operating Officer)
Chris Russell (National Director, Education)
Yvette Stanley (National Director, Social Care)
Louise Grainger (Director, Finance, Planning and Commercial)
Chris Jones (Director, Corporate Strategy)
Emily Williams (Deputy Director, Governance, Strategy and Private Office)
Board Secretary & Corporate Governance Manager
Corporate Governance Officer
Department for Education - observer
Head of Strategy (meeting item, Ofsted Strategy)
Senior Strategy Analyst (meeting item, Ofsted Strategy)
Status
Approved at the board meeting on 24 February 2022
Welcome, apologies and declarations of interest
The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Martin Spencer declared that he has been appointed interim chair of the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
Minutes, matters arising, action log and forward look
The minutes of 13 October board meeting were agreed as a correct record.
Board effectiveness and corporate governance framework review
[Redacted]
The proposed approach to the Ofsted board effectiveness and corporate governance framework review was outlined and will include interviews with board members, members of the executive team and others, observation of board and ARAC meetings, a review of Ofsted’s board information and an interactive review workshop.
[Redacted]
The review will commence in December 2021.
Updates from the Executive
[Redacted]
The board discussed the proposal that Ofsted might enhance its inspection of FE to assess how well colleges meet local skills needs, which is being tested through voluntary pilots of college inspections. Board members considered the proposals and agreed further discussion of the challenges.
Action: National Director, Education to meet with John Cridland and Carole Stott to discuss the pilot findings and the feasibility of assessing how well colleges meet skills needs.
Board discussion included updates on [Redacted] our engagement with DfE, the evolving Omicron situation and the latest government guidance.
Ofsted strategy 2022-2027
The board reviewed the latest developments on the draft strategy which reflected comments from the SCS, the board, the strategic metrics subgroup, and the all-staff survey.
The board agreed with the format and how the strategic priorities are presented as ‘we will’ and ‘as a result’ statements.
The board discussed the strategic priorities at length and made several points for consideration. This included:
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make the actions more specific and the ‘as a result’ statements measurable
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reflect the scale of the ambition in the strategy
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consider how the strategy contributes to wider government policies
The board agreed the strategic priorities for the 2022-27 strategy. The strategic metrics sub-group will pass on further comments alongside the discussion of strategic measures at their meeting in January 2022.
Action: The strategy team will sharpen the language and the final published document will be copy edited so that it is written in plain language and appropriate for an external audience. The strategy team will provide the strategic metrics sub-group with an updated version to reflect board comments, for consideration prior to the January 2022 meeting.
Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) verbal update
Martin Spencer provided an update from the ARAC meeting of 17 November 2021.
The committee endorsed the high-level timetable for the production of the annual report and accounts. ARAC received a deep dive presentation on cyber security risks and was assured that these risks are being managed with appropriate mitigations in place. The board was pleased to note that substantial assurance was provided in respect of the HR Assurance audit, which found that overall, suitable processes are in place.
The board will be asked to approve the appointment of a new co-opted member Ian Looker to replace James Aston.
Action: Board secretary to circulate for approval, a proposal that Ian Looker replace James Aston as the new co-opted ARAC member.
Strategic risk register
Members received an update on the strategic risk register and the actions identified to mitigate risks.
[Redacted]
Finance update
The financial position at the end of October 2021 was presented to the board.
The Spending Review has been positive, as HMT has agreed to fund most of the proposals put forward including funding for additional inspections.
An update on Budget Exchange bid was provided; a decision is expected imminently. [Redacted]
AOB
The board noted that the February board meeting would be held via Teams.