In the past 18 months it has become increasingly clear that for Ofsted there is one box that, when ticked, impresses the inspectorate almost more than anything else.

It is almost as if, when you get that right, the inspectors expect everything else to be in place. Instead of walking the school looking for what’s wrong, they walk around expecting everything to be right.

So, you may ask, what is this magic issue that so changes the attitude of the inspectors as they tour the school?

Here’s the answer: the issue is homework.

Show the inspectors that students, their parents, your colleagues and SLTs all know what homework is set day by day, the deadlines for each homework, the details of each piece of work, who was late submitting, what the marks were, and a dozen other factors, and immediately there is the impression of organisation and attention to detail that Ofsted inspectors so love and admire.

If you can show all that within a couple of minutes you will start to see the inspectors’ faces nodding with approval as ticks are put in the boxes.

Then show that you have incorporated the provision for non-English speaking parents to be able to access translations of the homework, and you will see that look that says you are almost home and dry.

Finally, make the point that the students not only know what homework they have to do – they also know that everyone else knows.

That one really knocks them out, because it shows that in one stroke you have eliminated the old story that students used to give parents about no homework being set.

To achieve this solution all you need is “Show My Homework”. It is used by schools across the country, and you can sign up for a free trial on our website by clicking here.

Alternatively you can call us on 020 8133 4560 for more information.

P.S: Here’s a nice little extra, we’ve just been shortlisted as a finalist for the BETT Awards 2013 in the category of Innovation in ICT – www.bettawards.com/522212