Martyn Oliver's speech at the Livery Education Conference 2026 - January 14

Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted's Chief Inspector, spoke at the Livery Education Conference at Drapers' Hall.

Introduction

"It's wonderful to be opening the conference, and especially to be here in the stunning surroundings of Drapers' Hall – home, of course, to the Worshipful Company of Drapers. Thank you so much for having me.

So, January. A new year. A time for reflection.

And as I prepared for this speech, I found myself reflecting on how the list of 113 livery companies tells the story of a changing country over hundreds of years.

From weavers to bakers, fishmongers to information technologists, engineers, and of course, educators. Each one a chapter in the story of our national life.

It leads me to thinking about the future. Thinking about the knowledge and skills we need to equip future generations with, so they're prepared to compete in the global marketplace.

As Ofsted's Chief Inspector, my mind naturally turns toward what all that means for children and young people. It gets me thinking about how we can ensure that the young people of today – young people who will determine what that future looks like – have the opportunities to develop knowledge, learn new skills, discover passions, and to thrive.

That's what I want to talk about this morning.

The trends we see

Young people today are coming of age in a difficult environment.

Our recent annual report, published just before Christmas, paints a sobering picture.

We see more young people not in education, employment or training. Young people left with limited direction and aspiration for their futures.

We see stubbornly high rates of absence in schools. Severe absence, missing more than half of your time at school, is almost 3 times higher than before the pandemic.

This absence is disruptive in itself. But the children missing these classes also fall out of step with the norms and expectations of school and perhaps, the norms and expectations of society. This is almost certainly one reason for the high reported levels of poor behaviour – which impacts valuable teaching time for other pupils too.

And there is a persistent attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils. Those young people who grow up with less can often find the journey into adulthood to be a trickier one, waylaid by barriers to their learning that other pupils don't face.

Behind these trends are thousands of young lives: more than a quarter of children are classed as coming from socially economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Their great potential is being left unrealised.

And what I keep coming back to is this idea that every one of us gets only one journey through the school system as a child.

One chance to grow, in classrooms room full of our peers, from a child into a teenager into a young adult.

One shot at getting an early education that serves as their foundation – an education that can inspire passions, knowledge and skills that last a lifetime.

Every step on that journey matters: starting education, the transition to secondary school, and from there getting ready for the further training or education that will set up a career. The world that these young people are entering is changing faster than ever, and it's on us to help them be prepared to meet it.

So we do need to be better at careers education and guidance.

This is particularly urgent for learners from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. In some communities, limited opportunities for work experience mean learners simply can't see all the career paths that might be open to them.

They can't picture the directions their life could take because they can't dream of a future they've never been shown.

But I've also seen first-hand what good opportunities can do.

Recently, on a visit to Stockport College, I met a remarkable young person.

She told me that she was interested in public speaking, and when I offered her the chance to introduce me on stage at the Birmingham ICC – completely spontaneously and with just a couple of weeks' notice – she jumped at the chance!

It's because she has been able to cultivate a strong sense of self-belief, thanks to a supportive family and excellent education professionals who encouraged that confidence in her.

And it meant she could not only see herself on that stage – but that she felt empowered to get up there, microphone in hand, in front of a room full of education professionals and to seize that moment.

I want that same opportunity for all children and learners. The chance to push themselves, acquire the relevant knowledge and develop a skill. To achieve good grades: outcomes do matter. To belong to a community. And to go on to find passions and careers that help them get on in life.

Ofsted's role and changes

So how is Ofsted playing its part in all this?

We are here to ensure that every child and young person's journey through the school system is a safe, enriching, positive one. Raising standards is the core of what Ofsted does, the very reason we exist.

In November last year we published our renewed framework for inspecting education in this country – from childminders and nurseries, all the way through to further education and skills training.

Improving how we inspect education improves standards for children in classrooms and gives them a better foundation for life.

We've improved how we report on what we find, too, with the first new report cards making their way out into the world earlier this week.

These report cards use a 5-point scale. There are no more single-word overall judgements like ‘good' or ‘outstanding'. We now have ‘urgent improvement, ‘needs attention', ‘expected standard', ‘strong standard', and finally, ‘exceptional', representing the very best practice in this country. And we do have exceptional practice in this country, some of the best in the world.

And I want to be very, very clear that there is no direct read-across from the old grades to the new. There is no ‘new good' or ‘new outstanding'.

Instead, the 5 grades bring more differentiation and more detail into how we describe what we see.

We assign grades to the areas that we were told matter most: areas like curriculum and teaching, attendance and behaviour, and achievement.

And within those areas, inspectors are specifically checking that schools are helping prepare young people for the careers they might go into.

To achieve the ‘expected standard' – which describes when a provider is meeting all its obligations for children and learners – it must prepare pupils for future education, employment or training.

At post-16, inspectors want to see that pupils are getting high-quality and individualised careers advice that prepares them for their next stage.

And inspectors are looking at how the curriculum connects to future opportunities. We want to see teachers highlighting where their subject can take you in life and – even if students don't pursue a career in that particular field – how a breadth of knowledge and skills paves the way for other options and interests.

Crucially – and this is something that I've been particularly keen to stress – the concept of inclusion is now threaded throughout the whole framework.

This is about helping to close that attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children that I mentioned earlier. Inclusion means we want to see schools supporting children supported by the pupil premium and those with SEND, children looked after by the state, those with caring responsibilities at home, those known to social care.

Inclusion is in every evaluation area because we absolutely want to make sure that every single child and learner is seen, heard, and encouraged in their aspirations, no matter their starting point and background.

When we report back to parents, carers, employers, educators and decision-makers we are now giving a much more rounded picture of what we see. Because in practice, these new grades mean that schools and colleges can achieve highly in some areas and perhaps less so in others, and that's completely normal.

Education leaders can and should use these report cards to focus their improvement efforts where they're needed most. You could meet the ‘expected standard' in terms of your inclusion offer – but require more focus on curriculum and teaching. We are shining a light on where that improvement needs to happen.

One thing I'd like to dwell on for a moment is that ‘exceptional' is an extremely challenging bar to reach.

This grade describes truly transformative leadership and practice. Sustained work that's been proven over multiple years to guarantee the very best for all pupils. No ‘ifs', no ‘buts'. All pupils, especially the most disadvantaged and vulnerable, are supported to thrive. 

It is not something we expect many to attain. It is, by definition, exceptional. And we want those leaders who do achieve ‘exceptional' to take up that mantle and share their practice – to become a beacon for others and to lead the system nationally.

What matters is continuous improvement. What matters is every child getting better opportunities than they had before.

The bigger picture

If we step back and look at the bigger picture, this is about sowing the seeds for a lifetime of active and positive citizenship.

It's about children and learners seeing themselves as worthy and capable of taking part in society and then going on to do just that.

We want every child to have access to a high-quality curriculum. One that will provide every child with the knowledge and skills they need – and that our economy will need – in the years ahead.

And you – schools and liveries alike – offer that education, that access to work experience, apprenticeships, advice that opens doors and opens minds.

The partnerships in this room matter. They speak to an incredibly rich history, but also to great opportunities in the future, helping young people access the career paths and skills represented by all of you – or even in fields not yet imagined!

The pace of change feels faster than ever. I don't know where that change will take us, but I do know that the generation sat in schools today will be a part of shaping that future.

We must do all we can to ensure that their one journey through the school system is a positive one. We all have a duty to help them realise their potential, so they can go on to shape our collective futures.

I hope you'll agree it's a mission every one of us can get behind.

Thank you very much. I'm happy to take questions."