What do the school inspection changes mean?

The Government has announced that single-phrase inspection headline grades for schools in England are being scrapped, and Ofsted has set out a series of reforms following a major public consultation.

– What is happening to Ofsted judgments?

Schools in England will no longer be issued with one of four judgments for overall effectiveness – outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate – when inspected.

The change, which was announced by the Department for Education (DfE) on Monday, will be scrapped with immediate effect following criticism of the inspection system since the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.

Mrs Perry took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest rating of “outstanding” to its lowest rating, “inadequate”, over safeguarding concerns.

A coroner concluded the Ofsted inspection in November 2022 “contributed” to Mrs Perry’s death.

But this academic year, parents will still be able to see the four grades across the existing sub-categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

– What are the plans for a “report card” system?

Parents will be able to view a “report card” so they have a more detailed assessment of what Ofsted inspectors have found at a school.

But the new system is not due to be rolled out until September next year, after a consultation has been launched by Ofsted in early 2025.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Sir Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector of schools, believe the report card system will provide parents with more information than one-word judgments.

Ofsted is hoping to increase its scrutiny of how schools are meeting the needs of vulnerable children by consulting on a focus on inclusion in the report cards.

But Amanda Spielman , who was chief inspector of Ofsted until the end of 2023, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that parents “generally like the simplicity and clarity” of overall single-phrase judgments.

– What action will be taken if a school receives a poor Ofsted report?

The Education Secretary said the Government could intervene if a school is rated as “inadequate” in any of the existing four sub-categories in a report – and they could be forced to convert into an academy.

Ms Phillipson told the Today programme that she “won’t hesitate to take action” when necessary.

In cases of the most serious concern, the Government will continue to intervene, including by issuing an academy order, which may in some cases mean transferring to new management.

The Government currently intervenes where a school receives two or more consecutive judgments of “requires improvement” under the “2RI” policy.

But under a policy change, these schools will now receive support from a high-performing school instead.

– What other changes are Ofsted hoping to introduce?

The chief inspector of Ofsted said schools could be judged on how well they tackle attendance and cater for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) under their proposals.

Ofsted said the publication of inspection reports will be paused when safeguarding concerns are identified in an otherwise high-performing school until inspectors revisit the school within three months.

The watchdog said the change – which will come into effect this month – will give schools more time to remedy issues without Government intervention and parents will still be informed about issues.

Ofsted has said it will work with the Government to introduce new annual safeguarding, attendance and off-rolling reviews for schools, and it will consult on a new standalone assessment of safeguarding in its reports.

The watchdog will also announce all routine inspections of schools on a Monday, with inspections taking place over the following two days, to help reduce the stress of waiting.

– What about other education settings which are not schools?

Ofsted has said it plans to introduce a new inspection framework for the schools, early years and further education sectors – which will have greater focus on pupil outcomes to drive higher standards.

Formal consultations on the report card, new framework, and inclusion and safeguarding grading will open in early 2025, the watchdog has said.

Sir Martyn said he hopes single-phrase headline judgments can be removed from Ofsted reports of early years settings and further education colleges by September 2025.