Ofsted recently consulted on changes to education inspections and
the introduction of a new report card. The consultation also set
out proposals for new inspection toolkits and a range of
methodological changes to ensure the consistency of inspection
and improve the experience for education professionals.
A formal response to the consultation was originally intended for
the summer term, but Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted's Chief Inspector,
has confirmed in a letter to the Secretary of State for Education
today that the scale of feedback received means the final
response will now be published in September. This will allow more
time to analyse responses and carry out further testing of
proposals to refine and improve the final approach.
The online consultation questionnaire received over 6,500
responses from parents, education professionals and
representative bodies. Ofsted also conducted over 200 test visits
to schools, early-years settings, further education and skills
providers and initial teacher education (ITE) institutions. At
the same time, YouGov carried out extensive independent polling
and focus groups with parents and professionals.
Parental feedback on the new-look report card was overwhelmingly
positive. Almost 7 out of 10 parents surveyed said they
preferred report cards to Ofsted's current inspection reports.
And nearly 9 out of 10 parents said the proposed report cards are
easy to understand.
In response to sector feedback on the inspection toolkits, Ofsted
has already confirmed its intention to improve their clarity,
particularly in how grades and the boundaries between them are
defined. Concerns have also been raised about the number of
evaluation areas to be considered on inspection, and insights
from test visits have suggested these could be streamlined to
make inspections more workable for all involved.
Ofsted is also doing more work to further ensure the consistency
of inspection by developing additional management and oversight
measures, which will be set out in September's response.
To minimise the pressure of inspection, an independent assessment
of the impact of the new approach on professionals' wellbeing
will be published as part of the response to the
consultation.
In his letter to the Education Secretary [link] Sir Martyn Oliver
said:
“I said from the start that this is a meaningful consultation and
that our proposals were not set in stone. We fully intend to make
improvements to the proposed inspection framework, based on what
we have heard, but we need a little more time to complete our
analysis of the responses we have received. I am also convinced
that our final approach will be improved by further testing of
these refinements before the summer.
“I firmly believe this will result in a better and more effective
inspection regime that will help the committed professionals in
the education sector to raise standards for children and
learners.”
Ofsted will continue to engage extensively with the education
sector throughout the summer, with test visits to be extended to
the end of this term. After publishing the consultation response,
toolkits and related materials in September, Ofsted will hold
comprehensive briefings for education professionals in the first
half of the autumn term, while routine inspections are on hold.
Ofsted will run a programme of training events and roadshows for
providers. Every provider will be invited to nominate an
individual to attend a training session, to give providers a
thorough understanding of the revised framework. Sector-facing
webinars will also continue, and inspector training materials
will continue to be made publicly available.
Routine inspections in schools, early years and further education
will resume under the revised framework in November. ITE
inspections will resume in January 2026, in keeping with their
usual timetable.
