Inspection Briefing 2024 - 2025
Last updated 4 November 2024
4 November 2024:
There were no ungraded inspections in Northumberland last half term so we are unable to provide any county-specific feedback as yet.
Ofsted did provide a webinar about ungraded inspections (55 minutes) which you can view here.
17 September 2024:
Banners - Schools that receive a full inspection this year are banned from using Ofsted judgment logos. Those inspected until the end of last academic year, which received overall effectiveness judgments, are able to use those logos to promote their grades. But schools that receive a full inspection from this month onwards “may no longer use the Ofsted judgment logos as they relate only to overall effectiveness”.
Monitoring inspections - Previously, inadequate schools and those rated ‘requires improvement’ twice in a row were eligible for monitoring inspections. Now it will be schools in a “category of concern” such as special measures or serious weaknesses, or those rated ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ in a key judgment area in their latest inspection. However, Ofsted has said it will not “normally” monitor schools in the latter position if their inspection before last was ‘outstanding’, ‘good’ or ‘inadequate’.
Monday notification - Ofsted will give leaders notice of all routine graded and ungraded inspections on a Monday after 9.30am, in new approach set to be piloted over autumn term. But it if a school is open in a week that includes a bank holiday, Ofsted “may notify the school on the Tuesday of that week”. Ofsted said inspections could fall on a Wednesday and Thursday in those weeks.
Safeguarding - If a school is ‘good’ or better in all other areas but fails in safeguarding, and inspectors think leaders have the capacity to fix it, they can call the inspection incomplete and return within three months to complete it, withholding judgment in the meantime. But Ofsted will only allow this if school leaders agree to send this letter to parents. If inspectors don’t think leaders can fix safeguarding issues within three months, they will conclude the inspection as normal and judge the school to have serious weaknesses.
Category of concern - Ofsted will now place a school in a “category of concern” following graded inspection if any “key judgment” is inadequate and/or if safeguarding is considered ineffective. Inspectors will then decide if the school has ‘serious weakness’ or requires ‘special measures’.
Information taken from Schoolsweek.
16 September 2024:
There will be no deep dives in ungraded inspections. Instead there will be "areas of focus", agreed during the 90 minute phonecall with the headteacher.
According to the Ofsted blog:
"The areas of focus will influence what inspectors do when they’re in school. At least a couple of these areas will be related to the quality of education, as you might expect. But they won’t focus on one subject and they won’t be deep dives. Instead, inspectors will look at a group of subjects together. So, in a primary school, they’re likely to look at early English and early mathematics together as a group so they can make sure that schools are getting these important basics right. Or they might look at a group of subjects from the wider curriculum. In a secondary school, there could be a focus on the core subjects and another focus on, for example, vocational subjects. We might focus on a specific aspect across these subjects. For example, perhaps a school has been working on improving assessment. We might then go with the headteacher or another senior leader to visit lessons in a group of subjects and discuss the impact of this new assessment work.
And there will usually be one or two other areas of focus too. These might be related to personal development, behaviour, attendance, or something that includes all of these. Again, these will be decided during the initial phone conversation and will be tailored to the school."
You can read the full blog here.
3 September 2024:
- 23 September - graded inspections resume.
- 7 October - ungraded inspections resume. There will be no deep dives in ungraded inspections.
- The inspection framework has not changed.
- Single word overall effectiveness gradings have been scrapped for schools (but not early years settings or independent schools). Single word judgements will still be provided for the four sub-judgments (quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management).
- Schools will continue to be judged on whether their safeguarding is effective.
- Schools that have already been inspected and received a headline grade will retain it until their next inspection.
- Ofsted will give leaders notice of inspections on a Monday. Headteachers will know by Monday afternoon if an inspection is planned for that week. Inspectors will then visit schools on a Tuesday and Wednesday only. This is a trial for the autumn term.
- If a school is ‘good’ or better in all other areas but fails in safeguarding, and inspectors think the leadership has the capacity to fix this, they can call the inspection incomplete and return within three months to complete it, withholding judgment in the meantime.
- At present, government intervention is triggered if a school is rated ‘requires improvement’ in two or more consecutive inspections ("coasting schools"). The new government is now calling them “struggling”, and instead of facing academisation or rebrokering, they will get “targeted support” from a high-performing school. This policy will be introduced immediately, except for ‘coasting’ schools already due to convert this term.
- Ungraded inspection reports will no longer say, ‘this school continues to be a good /outstanding school’. New wording will be confirmed in due course.
- Monitoring inspections will make clear when a school is no longer causing concern but will not use the terms ‘requires improvement’, ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.
- Report cards are to be introduced in September 2025. The government said the report cards will give parents a “full and comprehensive assessment of how schools are performing and ensure that inspections are more effective in driving improvement”.