It can be difficult to keep track of your statutory obligations and time-consuming to record and report what you’ve done – especially when there’s so much else to be getting on with. Instead, set aside some time for reassessing your school’s priorities and getting the basics right. Here, we separate some common compliance myths from those requirements that can’t be ignored…
Schools must have a curriculum policy covering each subject taught
FALSE – This is a common misconception, but it’s easy to spot where the confusion might come from. It’s not mandatory for schools to hold a curriculum policy, but if you choose to have one, how you write it and what you include are entirely up to you. That said, whether you’re in a maintained school or an academy, the DfE requires that certain information about your curriculum be published online, including the curriculum content for each subject in each year, and how parents can find out more.
Ofsted requires schools to have certain information on their websites
FALSE – Another frequent area of confusion is Ofsted’s role regarding school websites. The inspectorate will be checking your website for statutory information before you even know a visit is coming, but it doesn’t actually stipulate what needs to be there. So long as your website is compliant with the list of requirements set out by the DfE (which differ for maintained schools and academies – see here and here respectively), the inspectors will be happy.
Schools must pass a parent’s phone number to the LA whenever a pupil is removed from their roll
TRUE – As of 1 September 2016, maintained schools must now share much more information with their LA when a pupil is removed from the roll than was previously the case. This includes an emergency contact telephone number for any parent with whom the pupil normally resides, the parent’s address and the grounds for deleting the child from the admission register.
This short true/false exercise highlights just a small selection of the misconceptions and lesser-known requirements school leaders have to juggle when ensuring compliance, but it demonstrates some of the potential pitfalls. If you’re in any doubt as to what you have to do, always seek advice – not just to make sure you’re fully compliant, but to also avoid using up time that could be better spent elsewhere…
Marianne Pope is a senior researcher at The Key – a provider of information and online solutions to the education sector. This spring sees the launch of its ‘Compliance Tracker’ tool, designed to help schools and MATs track their statutory obligations; find out more here.
