Ofsted launches consultation for new reforms

Ofsted have launched a consultation to ask parents, carers, professionals, and learners, on how best to inspect and report on education providers. This consultation sets out Ofsted’s plans for a new inspection model in a move to both serve the interests of students and their parents, as well as ensuring the trust of professionals working in the schools Ofsted operates in.

This follows last year’s Big Listen, which was the largest consultation in Ofsted’s history, and was the first move in a major overhaul of the school inspection system as we know it. These proposals follow the Big Listen, and apply to inspections in early years establishments, state-fun schools, non-association independent schools, further education and skills providers, and initial teacher education (ITE) providers.

Findings from The Big Listen revealed that parents, carers, and professionals were unhappy with report cards, and believed inspection reports should provide a more nuanced view of a school’s strengths and areas for improvement, rather than just an overall effectiveness grade. New Ofsted report cards will include a colour-coded five-point grading scale to evaluate a school more holistically across several areas, as well as short summaries of inspectors’ findings in more detail. 

A big focus of Ofsted’s new consultation is inclusion, and Ofsted has pledged for inspectors to evaluate how well education providers support vulnerable and disadvantaged children and learners, including children with SEND, as well as using more contextual data in their school inspections and reports. By taking into account learner characteristics, attendance figures, and local area demographics, inspectors will be able to evaluate the leaders and teachers in the context they are working.

The new proposals will additionally focus on tailoring inspections to each phase of education, to ensure they focus on what children and learners really need in that particular setting. Ofsted will introduce new inspection ‘toolkits’ to make clear the standards that each provider will be evaluated against, and to give clarity to education providers on what the expected standards are.

From autumn 2025, every state school will know that its next Ofsted inspection is graded, as Ofsted is getting rid of ungraded inspections of state-funded schools. Ofsted have further announced that all schools with identified weaknesses will be monitored more closely, to ensure that action is being taken to raise standards.

His Majesty’s chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, said: “Our mission is to raise standards and improve the lives of children, particularly the most disadvantaged. Today’s proposals for a new Ofsted report card and a new way of inspecting are designed to do just that.

“The report card will replace the simplistic overall judgement with a suite of grades, giving parents much more detail and better identifying the strengths and areas for improvement for a school, early years or further education provider.

“Our new top ‘exemplary’ grad will help raise standards, identifying world-class practice that should be shared with the rest of the country. And by quickly returning to monitor schools that have areas for improvement, we will ensure timely action is taken to raise standards.

“We also hope that this more balanced, fairer approach will reduce the pressure on professionals working in education, as well as giving them a much clearer understanding of what we will be considering on inspection.”

The consultation will run for 12 weeks, up until 28th April 2025, as well as focus groups hosted by Ofsted, and piloting the new inspection approach by testing report cards.

The outcome of the consultation is set to be published the coming summer, with the final agreed reforms to first be piloted before being formally implemented from autumn 2025.