In Conversation with Brian Oppenheim - Lead HMI for D&T for Ofsted

Podcast brought to you by the Design and Technology Association in partnership with the Edge Foundation. Listen now!

Brian Oppenheim one of Her Majesties lead inspectors, a former teacher and head of design and technology and currently an experienced lead inspector with responsibility for the subject.

In this conversation, we cover Brian's experience at school and what brought him to train to teach design and technology with the Inner London Education Authority. Brian talks us through his experiences as a head of department and how he developed a love for the subject that remains to this day.

Brian was involved in helping to formulate the 'new' Ofsted framework and has worked to train other Ofsted colleagues in how to inspect design and technology and just what good and outstanding practise looks like in our subject.

In our conversation, we cover a lot of ground, including:

How does the revised framework for inspection differ from what came before and how has the first year been working with the new structure?
What exactly is a broad curriculum offer from Ofsted's perspective and what happens when you inspect a school that has reduced their offer to students?
What have been the main learning points for the subject over the last year?
What is a 'deep dive' and how might this look in practice?
This is an honest and open conversation with an Ofsted inspector that, in my opinion, really does value, understand and care about the subject.

Listen to the podcast