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Ofsted’s School Inspection Handbook: Key changes and what they mean
The handbook is regularly updated but this year there have been some key changes that should, in theory, make inspections less pressured for school leaders and staff.
In September, Ofsted published their updated school inspection handbook following a period of consultation and reflection. This handbook is primarily a guide for inspectors on how to carry out school inspections but it is in the public domain so that schools are informed about the processes and procedures of inspection.
Notification of inspections
Notification for graded and ungraded inspections will now be carried out from 9.30am on Monday of the week that the school is being inspected. The inspection will then begin on Tuesday. However, this does not apply to monitoring visits, deferrals or emergency inspections. It is also worth noting that if the inspection is due to take place during the week that there is a bank holiday Monday, then schools will be informed on the Tuesday with the inspection being carried out the next day.
The notice for urgent inspections remains unchanged.
During the inspection
Both graded and ungraded inspections will normally last 2 days. However, an ungraded inspection of a primary school or maintained nursery school with fewer than 150 pupils on its roll will normally last for 1 day.
All inspectors have been informed that they may discuss with leaders their reflections on the evidence they’ve seen. Leaders will be invited to meet with inspectors at the end of day 1 to discuss how the evidence is coming together and hear the inspectors’ emerging evaluation of the school. At this point, they should be given the opportunity to clarify any factual matters, draw the inspectors’ attention to any other matters arising and contribute to the planning of the day 2 timetable.
Single word judgements will no longer be given
Graded inspections of state-funded schools will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This is perhaps the biggest change and one that many school leaders and teaching unions have been pushing for. Prior to the new inspection handbook being released, Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, had announced an immediate halt to one- or two-word overall effectiveness judgements (‘headline grades’) for state-funded schools and described these as ‘reductive’. Instead, schools will receive a judgement for each one of four key judgement areas:
- Quality of education
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Personal development
- Leadership and management
They will still receive a judgement on whether safeguarding is effective, and graded judgements for any early years or sixth form provision.
In ungraded inspections, inspectors will be focused on determining whether the school has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. Schools must demonstrate maintenance or improvement of standards. A key change for ungraded inspections is that there are no longer going to be deep dives into specific subjects. His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has said that he wants these inspections to act ‘more like monitoring visits.’
Schools can still be judged to require special measures or require significant improvement and the definition of a school causing concern remains unchanged, even though Ofsted will no longer make and report an overall effectiveness judgement.
There are two categories of schools causing concern. These are a school requiring:
- Special measures – this is defined as a school that meets both of the following criteria:
-failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education, and
-the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school
- Significant improvement – this is defined as a school that does not meet the definition for special measures, but is performing significantly less well than it might be expected to
Ofsted refers to this as ‘serious weaknesses.’ Where a school meets this definition, the Secretary of State has a legal duty to make an academy order. This remains the same, despite the removal of the overall effectiveness grade.
A school with one or more judgements of requires improvement, but which is not placed in a formal category of concern, will be subject to increased monitoring. There will be more scrutiny and support for these schools and leaders will need to show rapid progress.
Banners be gone!
Schools inspected from September 2024 onwards will not be able to use Ofsted judgement logos as they relate only to overall effectiveness. Prior to the changes, schools were allowed to use Ofsted logos to publicise a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ judgment, for example on their websites or banners at their gates.
Safeguarding
Further clarity has been provided around what constitutes effective and ineffective safeguarding procedures. This includes clarification around the expectations for keeping a Single Central Record and what information inspectors will check. It has been iterated that safeguarding can be judged as effective if there are minor safeguarding issues as long as those issues can be resolved before the inspection is over or the school has taken necessary steps to resolve the issue. It is important to know though that this only applies to issues that do not put children at risk.
The handbook also sets out an updated policy for inspectors on what to do if safeguarding concerns arise during an inspection. The new policy enables inspectors to pause the visit to allow a school to resolve issues with safeguarding where that is the only issue in the school. This depends on the school’s wider context i.e. whether all other judgements were deemed to be at least good.
What the picture looks like so far…
Few schools have been inspected under the new framework so far but some of those who have been, have reported that writing lessons and outcomes are being given more of a consideration than under the previous framework.
With that in mind, we are here to offer help and support. Our consultants can support with curriculum planning, developing pedagogical approaches, supporting subject leaders with strategic planning, moderation and much more.
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