Understanding Ofsted’s new inspection proposalsWhat parents need to know
- NAHT The School Leader's Union
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
What’s changing?
Ofsted, the body responsible for inspecting schools in England, is proposing significant changes to how it conducts inspections and the information it provides to parents. While school inspections are crucial, these new proposals have raised serious concerns among educators and parents alike.
Why the change?
These changes come in the wake of the tragic death of Ruth Perry, a head teacher who took her own life in 2023 after a distressing inspection. The coroner found that the inspection had contributed to her death, prompting calls for Ofsted to rethink its approach to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Current vs proposed system
Current inspection process
Currently, Ofsted inspections involve a team of inspectors evaluating a school through observations, discussions and reviews. This typically results in a report with four graded judgements in the following key areas:
Quality of education – How well pupils are taught and how effectively they learn
Behaviour and attitudes – How pupils behave in school, their attitudes toward learning and the school’s culture
Personal development – How well the school supports pupils’ wider personal growth, including well-being and life skills
Leadership and management – The effectiveness of school leaders, including safeguarding and staff support.
High-stakes pressure
Schools receive less than 24 hours’ notice before an inspection, leaving little time to prepare for what is often a high-stakes and intense process. For example, the school receives a call after 9.30am, but often much later. School leaders then have to drop everything to speak to the lead inspector on two occasions – the second is a detailed conversation that sets the focus of the inspection – before the onsite inspection begins at 8am the next day.
A single bad inspection can have serious consequences – not just for a school’s reputation but for its leadership. Like football managers after a poor run of results, head teachers can lose their jobs over one negative judgement, regardless of the progress their school is making. This pressure can create a culture of fear rather than genuine school improvement.
A snapshot, not the full picture
Inspectors spend just two days in a school, making a judgement that can have long-lasting consequences for staff, pupils and the wider community. This approach can feel like a ‘snapshot’ assessment rather than a full picture of a school’s day-to-day environment, challenges and successes.
The new proposed inspection process
Under the new system, Ofsted plans to do the following:
Spend the same amount of time in school
Increase the number of graded judgements from four to between eight and 10
Use a five-point scale (from ‘causing concern’ to ‘exemplary’) instead of the current four-point scale.
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