School inspection handbook Updated 16 September 2024

Introduction

1. This handbook describes the main activities carried out during graded, ungraded and urgent inspections of maintained schools and academies in England under sections 5 and 8 of the Education Act 2005, respectively. It sets out the grade descriptors that inspectors use to make their judgements and on which they report. It applies to school inspections under the education inspection framework (EIF).

2. Graded inspections are carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. They were previously known as section 5 inspections. In graded inspections, we use Ofsted’s education inspection framework and grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth-form provision) against our grade descriptors.

3. Ungraded inspections are carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. They were previously known as section 8 inspections of good and outstanding schools. An ungraded inspection differs from a graded inspection because it does not result in individual graded judgements. Instead, it focuses on determining whether the school has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

4. Urgent inspections are also carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. They were previously known as inspections with no formal designation and unannounced behaviour inspections.

5. Ofsted may also carry out inspections under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 in order to comply with a request from the Secretary of State under section 118(2) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 for information or advice about maintained schools and academies. We may also carry out research during inspections.

6. This handbook is primarily a guide for inspectors on how to carry out school inspections. However, we make it available to schools and other organisations to ensure that they are informed about the processes and procedures of inspection. It seeks to balance the need for consistency in inspections with the flexibility required to respond to the individual circumstances of each school. This handbook should be regarded not as a set of inflexible rules, but as an account of the procedures of inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement when they apply the guidance in this handbook. When applying the guidance in this handbook, inspectors will take appropriate action to comply with Ofsted’s duties under the Equality Act 2010.

7. The handbook has 4 parts:

• Part 1. How schools will be inspected: this contains information about the processes before, during and after the inspection

• Part 2. Explanation of Ofsted’s judgements: this sets out the kinds of evidence that inspectors gather and the activities they carry out to make their judgements

• Part 3. Grade descriptors: this contains the evaluation criteria that inspectors use to make the graded judgements about schools

• Part 4. Urgent inspections: this contains the procedures and evaluation criteria for these inspections. It stands alone and therefore may repeat some of the content of part 1

Conduct during inspections

8. Ofsted’s code of conduct sets out our expectations of the conduct of our inspectors and our expectations of schools during inspection.

9. Inspectors will uphold the highest professional standards in their work. They will treat everyone they meet during inspections fairly and with the respect and sensitivity they deserve. Inspectors will work constructively with leaders and staff, demonstrating professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect at all times.

10. Schools should approach their inspection with integrity and be open, transparent and honest. This includes providing evidence – or access to evidence – that will enable inspectors to report honestly, fairly and reliably. It means not withholding or concealing evidence, or providing false, misleading, inaccurate or incomplete information.

Schools raising concerns

11. If a school has any concerns about an inspection, including about inspectors’ conduct or any potential or perceived conflicts of interest, they should be raised at the earliest opportunity with the lead inspector. Concerns can be raised at any point during the inspection, including (but not limited to):

• the inspection planning conversation

• meetings between leaders and inspectors

• the final feedback meeting

12. Any concerns will be taken seriously, and the act of raising the concern will not impact inspection findings or how a school is considered by Ofsted. If it is not possible to resolve concerns with the lead inspector, the school or responsible body should follow the steps set out in Handling concerns and complaints.

Gathering personal information on inspection

13. Inspectors will gather any personal information necessary to assist them in inspecting a school. Our privacy policy sets out what personal information we collect, what we do with it, how long we keep it and individuals’ rights under data protection legislation.

14. Individuals and organisations are legally required to provide inspectors with access to information. Section 10 of The Education Act 2005 gives inspectors powers of entry to any premises on which a school provides education to pupils and a right to inspect, and take copies of, any records kept by the school, and any other documents containing information relating to the school, that His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) considers relevant to the discharge of their functions. These powers enable inspectors to look at computers and other devices that may hold relevant information. Regulations enable the Department for Education (DfE) to provide Ofsted with information on individual pupils where it relates to school inspections.

15. Inspectors gather evidence on inspection and record this on Ofsted’s systems. They may also see evidence on site that contains personal information about staff and young people, such as registers and lesson plans. Inspectors may take notes from, or copies of, this type of evidence before handing it back to an appropriate staff member at the end of the inspection. Any notes or copies will be stored as evidence securely and not retained by inspectors personally. Inspectors may take photographs of pupils’ work. These photographs will be stored securely as evidence, but will not be retained by the inspector personally.

16. In most schools, inspectors will gather evidence electronically using a range of devices, including laptops, mobile phones and tablets. Inspectors should transfer evidence securely in line with our security policies.

Research on inspection

17. We may carry out research during our inspections. Where this happens, the research activity will have no impact on inspection judgements. In addition to this research approach, as our research work is based on our national priorities, we may invite providers to participate in research visits (separate to inspections) at other times.

Clarification for schools

Terminology

18. In this handbook:

• the term ‘school’ refers to a maintained school or an academy, and the terms ‘maintained school’ or ‘academy’ will be used where applicable to that type of school only

• the term ‘leaders’ refers to the staff in a school who are responsible for making key decisions about how the school operates, for example on matters such as the curriculum or behaviour. It will always include the headteacher and will likely include their senior staff, but will otherwise vary from school to school, especially depending on its size. In most schools, it will include middle or subject leaders who have responsibility for individual subjects and/or aspects of the curriculum. Additionally, in a trust, ’leaders’ also includes leaders from within the trust (but not from governance roles) who have a role in running the school, including the trust chief executive officer (CEO) and other roles such as executive headteacher or director of education

• the term ‘trust’ refers to any academy trust, including single-academy trusts, multi-academy trusts and multi-academy companies (many dioceses use the term ‘multi-academy companies’; these are legally identical to multi-academy trusts but use a different name)

• the term ‘board of governors’ is used to refer to the accountable authority for a maintained school, and ‘governors’ is used to refer to members of that board. The board is the appropriate body of the school for the purposes of section 6 of the Education Act 2005

• the term ‘board of trustees’ is used to refer to the accountable authority of a trust, and ‘trustees’ is used to refer to the trustees on that board (who may be referred to as directors if they are in multi-academy companies). The board is the appropriate body and the proprietor for standalone academies or for all the academies in a trust, for the purposes of section 6 of the Education Act 2005

• the term ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean: pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last 6 years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route)

• the term ‘qualifying complaint’ refers to complaints made to Ofsted as set out in section 11A (2) of the Education Act 2005

• any reference to parents includes registered parents or carers

• any reference to a school with serious weaknesses refers to a school that requires significant improvement under section 44 of the Education Act 2005

• any reference to ‘report’ describes the formal written outcome from an inspection, which is usually published

Common misconceptions about inspection

19. The information below confirms our requirements. This is to correct common misconceptions about inspection that can result in unnecessary workload for schools. It is intended to highlight specific practices that we do not require.

Evidence for inspection

20. We do not require schools to do additional work or to ask pupils to do work specifically for the inspection, or create unnecessary workload for teachers through our recommendations.

21. We will not require schools to provide:

• evidence for inspection beyond that set out in this handbook

• evidence in any specific format, as long as it is easily accessible for inspectors

• written evidence of oral feedback to pupils

• predictions of attainment and progress scores

• assessment or self-evaluation, other than that which is already part of the school’s business processes

• performance and pupil-tracking information

• any specific document or plan in relation to the pupil premium other than its pupil premium strategy, and will not require any further school-generated data on the pupil premium

22. Inspectors will, during their preparation for graded and ungraded inspections, normally review and consider any qualifying complaints made to Ofsted about the school. Inspectors will not:

• investigate the circumstances of a complaint on a graded or ungraded inspection, or come to any conclusions about the complaint itself

• follow up on complaints received before the inspection

• use complaints (qualifying complaints or other) or information about complaints as evidence to support judgements or come to any judgements based on complaints (qualifying complaints or other). However, evidence we find on an inspection following a complaint can be used to support judgements

Involving leaders and governance in inspections

23. We will invite the headteacher and the chief executive officer (CEO) of the trust (or their delegate) (where applicable) to observe the inspectors’ team meeting at the end of each day. At least one other member of staff may attend the meeting to support the headteacher. This should typically be someone who deputises for them (or a member of trust staff) and who can understand and discuss the educational content of the meeting with the headteacher. Additional members of staff (this could include trust staff or a local authority representative) may attend at the discretion of the lead inspector, but attendees should be few in number to allow for a productive conversation in the time available. Leaders will attend the meeting to observe inspectors bringing the evidence together. The team meeting on day 1 is an opportunity for the lead inspector and team inspectors to share evidence and consider the emerging evaluation of the school. However, the lead inspector may discuss with leaders their reflections on what they have heard. This will give leaders the opportunity to:

• clarify any factual matters

• draw inspectors’ attention to any other specific matters

• contribute to planning the day 2 timetable

24. On day 2, the team meeting will help leaders to understand the evidence on which the judgements are based. On inspections with a single inspector, the lead inspector will have a short discussion with the headteacher (and the CEO or their delegate, where applicable) at the end of each day to set out the emerging and final findings.

25. We will encourage maintained schools to invite any governor who is available, and academies to invite any trustee who is available, to meet inspectors during an inspection. These meetings may include a virtual option using video or telephone calls if necessary.

26. In academies, we expect to meet those directly responsible for management and governance, including the CEO or their delegate (or equivalent), the chair of the board of trustees (or their delegate) and other trustees. Inspectors will refer to the scheme of delegation and discuss this with the headteacher during their notification call, when deciding who may be the most appropriate individuals to speak to.

Evaluating the quality of education

27. We will judge schools that take radically different approaches to the curriculum fairly; inspectors will assess any school’s curriculum favourably when leaders have built or adopted a curriculum with appropriate coverage, content, structure and sequencing and implemented it effectively.

28. We will not look unfavourably on schools that have adopted curriculum sequences created by others, for example commercial or local schemes. We will look at whatever curriculum the school is using. It is up to schools to determine their practices and it is up to leadership teams to justify these on their own merits rather than referring to this handbook.

29. We will not:

• grade individual lessons

• advocate a particular method of planning (including lesson planning), teaching or assessment, or expect curriculum planning to be in any specific format

• require schools to provide individual lesson plans or previous lesson plans

• require schools to provide recordings of live lessons that are delivered remotely, unless they are normally stored for staff or pupils’ future use

• require schools to carry out a specified amount of lesson observation

• take a random sample of exercise books/folders/sketchbooks/electronic files or evaluate individual workbooks or expect workbooks to be compiled solely to provide evidence for inspection

• use work scrutiny to evaluate teachers’ marking

• specify the frequency, type or volume of marking and feedback

• require schools to ensure a particular frequency or quantity of work in pupils’ books or folders

• require photographic evidence of pupils’ work (although inspectors may ask to take photographs themselves of pupils’ work, and will take all reasonable steps to anonymise these)

Staff information and professional development

30. The focus of these inspections is on schools and how all the individuals within them work together to make sure children receive the highest possible quality of education. The focus is not on inspecting the specific individuals that work in schools.

31. We will not provide schools with any information from any lesson visit with the intention that it be used in capability or disciplinary proceedings or for the purposes of performance management.

32. We will not routinely check personnel files, although inspectors may look at a small sample. They will also review the single central record for the school and at how the school undertakes necessary safeguarding checks.

33. We will not require schools to:

• provide evidence of the monitoring of teaching, teachers’ professional development or application of the teachers’ standards, other than that which is already part of the school’s normal activity

• provide evidence about each teacher from each of the bulleted sub-headings in the teachers’ standards

• provide specific details of the pay grade of individual teachers who are observed during inspection

• provide anonymised lists of teachers meeting or not meeting performance thresholds for pay progression

• provide processes for the performance management arrangements for staff

• use the EIF to grade teaching or individual lessons

• include targets relating to the proportion of good or better teaching in the headteacher’s objectives

• set teachers’ performance targets based on commercially produced predictions of pupils’ achievement, or any other data set, from which it would then hold teachers to account

Safeguarding and security

34. We expect schools to maintain, as they are required to by ’Keeping children safe in education: statutory guidance for schools and colleges’, a single central record of the safeguarding checks they carry out. The statutory guidance also requires trusts to record this information in a way that allows for details of each individual academy to be provided separately and without delay, even if it is held centrally.

35. We do not expect, and there is no requirement for, schools to apply retrospectively for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and other pre-employment checks for staff who were appointed before DBS requirements were introduced, and have been employed continuously since then.

36. We expect schools to meet the other requirements of Keeping children safe in education, but have no additional or separate expectations of schools with respect to:

• taking any specific steps with regard to site security; in particular, inspectors do not have a view about the need for perimeter fences or lockdown alarms

• using a digital platform to monitor pupils’ internet use, and we do not specify how these platforms should operate

Part 1. How schools will be inspected

Basics of inspection

Timing of inspection

37. An inspection can take place at any point from 5 school days after the first day pupils attend in the autumn term. For example, if pupils return to school on a Wednesday, an inspection can take place as early as the following Wednesday.

38. Ofsted is required to inspect at prescribed intervals all schools to which section 5 applies. The law usually requires the maximum interval for inspections to be no more than 5 school years from the end of the school year in which the last relevant inspection took place. However, if a school’s most recent graded or ungraded inspection was before 4 May 2021, the legal maximum for that school will, instead, be up to 7 years.

39. Until September 2024, graded inspections of schools included an overall effectiveness grade in addition to the key judgements, and any provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on schools’ inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. We will continue to inspect these schools in the timescales set out in the tables below.

40. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. Schools inspected from then will not have the same way of working out when to expect their next inspection as other schools. We will set out the expected dates for when we will next inspect them from September 2025. These schools should not expect to receive an ungraded or graded inspection before then. Some could receive an urgent or monitoring inspection, which can be deemed a graded inspection.

41. In general, our policy is that a school judged outstanding or good for overall effectiveness before September 2024 will usually be inspected within the 4 academic years following its last inspection. A school judged requires improvement or inadequate for overall effectiveness before September 2024 will usually be inspected within 2.5 years.

42. However, the picture is now more complicated, for several reasons. The sections below will give you an indication of when your next inspection is likely to be. You can select links to take you directly to that section:

• schools with an outstanding grade that were previously exempt from routine inspection

• new schools and schools not yet inspected under their current URN (not including previously exempt schools)

• schools with a good or outstanding judgement AND an ungraded inspection that recommended a follow-up graded inspection

• other schools with a good or outstanding judgement

• schools with an requires improvement judgement

• schools with an inadequate judgement

43. As has always been the case, the indications we give are only rough guides. We may inspect sooner if we need to (for example if we have concerns about a school). Further, if a school undergoes significant change, for example through merging with another school, its next inspection may be later to give time for these changes to bed in. We do not confirm exactly when a school will be inspected before we notify it officially.

First inspection of schools graded outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024 and that were previously exempt from routine inspection

44. The timing of the first inspection of a school that was previously exempt from routine inspection due to an outstanding grade, after the exemption was lifted in November 2020, will depend on the date of the inspection that graded the school outstanding. In some cases, this may be the date its predecessor school was inspected. The timing of further inspections is set out below in the ‘Schools with a good or outstanding judgement’ section.

Schools graded good or outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024 and that have had an ungraded inspection that recommended a follow-up graded inspection

45. If a school was graded good or outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024, but it has since had an ungraded inspection that recommended a follow-up graded inspection, the next inspection will be:

Schools graded good or outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024

46. If a school was graded good or outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024 (except for the first inspection of schools with an outstanding grade that were previously exempt from routine inspection) and either:

• it has not since had an ungraded inspection

• the last ungraded inspection did not recommend that the next inspection be graded

then the next inspection will be:

Schools graded requires improvement for overall effectiveness before September 2024

Schools graded inadequate for overall effectiveness before September 2024

47. This does not include schools that receive a new URN because they convert to an academy or move to a trust. We treat these as new schools.

Graded and ungraded inspections

48. The EIF and this handbook set out the statutory basis for school inspections carried out under the Education Act 2005.

49. This section of the handbook applies to graded and ungraded inspections of schools in England under sections 5 and 8 of the Education Act 2005, respectively. The schools subject to inspection under this section of the Act are:

• maintained schools, including community, foundation and voluntary schools

• maintained special schools, including community and foundation special schools

• maintained nursery schools

• academies, including:

  • sponsor-led academies

  • academy converter schools

  • academy special schools

  • alternative provision academies

  • free schools

  • special free schools

  • university technical colleges (UTCs)

  • studio schools

  • city technology colleges

  • city technology colleges for the technology of the arts

• certain non-maintained special schools approved by the Secretary of State under section 342 of the Education Act 1996

• pupil referral units (PRUs)

50. This handbook does not apply to monitoring programmes or inspections. The policy for these inspection events can be found in our monitoring handbook.

51. The further education and skills inspection handbook applies to 16 to 19 academies.

52. We identify a school by its unique reference number (URN). Any institution with its own URN will be inspected in its own right. Schools that work in partnership with other schools, through federations, managed groups, chains or other collaborative activities, but that have a separate URN will be inspected as individual schools and separate inspection reports will be published. Schools that work on different sites, or that have different provisions, but share a single URN will be inspected as one body. We may, however, try to coordinate the inspection of certain groups of schools, where this is possible.

Graded inspections

53. All schools that received an overall effectiveness judgement of requires improvement or inadequate before September 2024 will receive a graded inspection. So will a selection of schools that received an overall effectiveness judgement of outstanding or good before September 2024 (see ‘risk assessment’ section). A graded inspection uses our full framework and grades the school against our key judgements (and any relevant provision judgement) grade descriptors. (see part 3).

54. Schools inspected after September 2024 will not receive an overall effectiveness grade. We will set out the expected dates for their next inspections when the new framework is in place, from September 2025.

Ungraded inspections

55. Some schools judged good and outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024 will receive a graded inspection, but many will receive an ungraded inspection instead. An ungraded inspection does not result in individual graded judgements. It focuses on determining whether the school has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. Very occasionally, an ungraded inspection can be ‘deemed’ to be a graded inspection under section 9 of the Education Act (see further details in the ‘ungraded inspection deemed to be a graded inspection’ section). In these cases, inspectors will grade (using the 4-point grading scale required for graded inspections) each of the key judgements, and any provision judgements.

56. Usually, an ungraded inspection will be followed by a further ungraded inspection after approximately a 4-year interval (this may change from September 2025). However, inspectors might find evidence that some aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as they were at the previous inspection. If this is the case, inspectors will tell the school that the next inspection should be a graded inspection. This should take place within 1 to 2 years. The ‘outstanding schools that were formerly exempt from routine inspections’ section sets out specific temporary rules about some outstanding schools.

57. As is the case for all schools, a school judged good or outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024 may still receive an urgent inspection (carried out under section 8) at any time in certain circumstances (see part 4). For example, we may decide that we should inspect a school earlier than its next scheduled inspection if:

• there are potential safeguarding issues and/or welfare concerns

• there is a potential decline in the standards of pupils’ behaviour and/or the ability of staff to maintain discipline

• a subject or thematic survey inspection raises general concerns

• we have received a qualifying complaint about the school that, taken alongside other available evidence, suggests that it would be appropriate to do so

• concerns are raised about standards of leadership or governance

• concerns are identified about the breadth and balance of the curriculum (including whether the statutory requirement to publish information to parents is not met)

• HMCI or the Secretary of State have concerns about the school’s performance

• the Secretary of State requests an inspection for any other reason

Schools requesting an inspection

58. The board of governors of a maintained school or the board of trustees of an academy are able to request an inspection of an individual school for which they are responsible. This will be a graded inspection. It will be the same as an inspection carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005, although it will technically be carried out under sections 8 and 9. If Ofsted carries out a requested inspection, HMCI may charge the appropriate authority for its cost.

New schools

59. We define a new school as a school with a new URN. The DfE provides all schools with a URN. If a school changes its status or undergoes significant change and receives a new URN, it becomes a new school for inspection purposes, except where that school was previously exempt from inspection. If the school retains its URN following a change, it will be treated as the same school.

60. Academies account for most new schools. These include free schools, former maintained schools that have voluntarily converted to become academies (‘academy converters’), and former maintained schools that were judged as inadequate by Ofsted before September 2024 and were directed by the Secretary of State to become academies and join a trust.

61. Judgements made about a predecessor school with a different URN are not judgements about the new school, even if the new school is, or seems to be, substantially the same provision. Inspectors may look at the performance of any predecessor school as part of pre-inspection planning. They can look at this data to consider whether the new academy has improved on, or declined from, its predecessor’s performance and whether it has tackled any areas of weakness or built on strengths from the predecessor school. However, inspectors will take care not to give undue weight to any progress or attainment compared with those of the predecessor. Inspectors will not take account of the predecessor’s key judgements or areas for improvement when reaching their judgements about the new school. Inspectors will make clear to the new school the extent to which they have taken account of the performance data from its predecessor school(s) but judgements will be made about the current school only, not the predecessor.

62. The first inspection of a new school will normally take place as follows:

63. New academy converters whose predecessor schools were judged good or outstanding for overall effectiveness at their last graded inspection before September 2024 will normally receive an ungraded inspection as their first inspection. However, these schools may receive a graded inspection if we deem it necessary.

64. We will normally carry out ungraded inspections of academy converters approximately every 4 years (although see timing of inspection above). This is in line with our policy on scheduling ungraded inspections. However, we will consider the inspection history of the predecessor school to decide the timing of the inspection.

65. For inspections of academy converters that were formerly exempt from routine inspection because their predecessor schools were judged outstanding, the decision on when the first inspection will take place is determined by the most recent inspection of the school’s predecessor school(s). We will also use this to determine whether the first inspection will be a graded or ungraded inspection. Further details are set out in the ‘outstanding schools that were formerly exempt from routine inspections’ section.

66. Before September 2024, there were a couple of circumstances where schools were going to convert to an academy and either:

• the predecessor school was judged good, with evidence that it may have improved to outstanding at its most recent ungraded inspection

• the lead inspector was not satisfied that the school would have received at least its current grade if a graded inspection was carried out at that time

In both these circumstances, we informed the predecessor schools that their next inspection would be a graded inspection. If that graded inspection did not happen before the school converted to an academy, the new academy converter will receive a graded inspection as its first inspection. As with all graded inspection of schools from September 2024, this will not include an overall effectiveness judgement.

67. In the above circumstances, the graded inspection will normally take place:

• no later than the predecessor school would have received the graded inspection if it had not converted to an academy; but

• no earlier than 1 year after the new academy opens

68. The first graded inspection report of a new academy will state ‘not previously inspected as an academy’ (this will not apply if an existing academy is re-brokered and receives a new URN). The first graded inspection report of a converter academy will include, in the context section, a statement that follows the example below:

Risk assessment

69. We use risk assessment to ensure that our approach to inspection is proportionate so that we can focus our efforts on where we can have the greatest impact. We use risk assessment, for example, to determine which schools judged good and outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024 will receive an ungraded inspection, and which will receive a graded inspection. Risk assessment is a desk-based review of relevant information pertaining to the school. The indicators that we analyse in our risk assessment are usually the most recent data available at that time.

70. We use a broad range of indicators to select schools for inspection. Therefore, receiving a graded inspection, rather than an ungraded inspection, does not mean that there are significant concerns about a school.

71. Our risk assessment methodology is updated and published yearly.

Outstanding schools that were formerly exempt from routine inspections

72. Between 15 May 2012 and 13 November 2020, mainstream primary and secondary schools judged to be outstanding in their overall effectiveness at their most recent graded inspection were exempt from routine inspections. These schools are now once again subject to routine inspections. This also applies to academy converter schools that were formerly exempt because the overall effectiveness of their predecessor school was outstanding at its most recent graded inspection.

73. All formerly exempt schools will receive an initial inspection by July 2025. However, for that inspection they will not be subject to the risk assessment process set out above. Those schools that last received a graded inspection before September 2015 will receive an initial graded inspection. Schools that last received a graded inspection after this date will normally receive an initial ungraded inspection. If that ungraded inspection indicates that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection, we will normally carry out a graded inspection within the next 12 months or as soon as possible after that. In all cases, that will be before 1 August 2026. Beyond these initial inspections, future inspections of these schools will take place as set out in the ‘inspection timings’ section above.

Provision for 2- and 3-year-olds

74. Schools that take 2- and 3-year-olds as part of their early years provision may not need to register that provision with Ofsted (see Registering school-based childcare provision. In these cases, we will inspect provision for 2- and 3-year-olds on both ungraded and graded inspections. On graded inspections, inspectors will ensure that the judgement on the effectiveness of early years provision includes an evaluation of the provision for 2- and 3-year-olds. Inspectors will also note if any children receive additional funding.

75. Any care that a school provides for children in the early years age range, before and/or after the school day or during the school holidays, is considered as part of the evaluation of the school’s early years provision.

Inspections of boarding and residential special schools

76. When a boarding or residential special school’s graded inspection is due in the same financial year as the full inspection of its boarding or residential provision, we will normally carry out an aligned inspection. However, we are not planning to carry out any aligned inspections in the 2024/25 academic year, except in exceptional circumstances. We expect to resume them from September 2025.

77. Aligned inspections are carried out by 2 separate inspection teams (education and social care). They result in 2 sets of graded judgements and 2 separate published reports. We will also publish on our reports website a summary letter using extracts from both reports.

78. Inspectors make the judgements for boarding or residential provision in accordance with the guidance and grade descriptors in the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF): boarding schools and residential special schools. Inspectors carry out the inspection of the education provision under the EIF.

79. Education inspectors will consider the impact of the boarding/residential judgements on the overall effectiveness judgement for the whole school. They will take account of the proportion of boarders/residential pupils who also attend the school and the seriousness of any issues found.

80. In practice, inspectors from both teams will work closely together to plan the inspection activities. They will discuss their findings throughout the inspections. They will normally carry out meetings with key personnel, such as the designated safeguarding lead(s) and the governors/trustees, together. The 2 teams will share inspection evidence where it is appropriate to do so. Examples of when it is appropriate to share evidence include assessing pupils’ attendance, the strengths of the links between the day school and the boarding or residential provision, and if concerns are raised with inspectors about the welfare of the children in the school and/or boarding or residential provision.

81. We will notify the provider of the aligned inspections at around 2pm on the Monday of the week that the inspections are due to start. The lead education and social care inspectors will then follow this notification call with separate calls to the headteacher and head of boarding, respectively. All education and social care teams will arrive and leave the school at the same time at the beginning and at the end of the inspection. Arrival and departure times throughout the inspection will differ according to the requirements of each remit’s framework.

Inspections of schools that are registered as children’s homes

82. A graded inspection of the education in a school that is also registered as a children’s home may take place as a stand-alone inspection of the education provision or at the same time as the full inspection of the children’s home. This applies to residential special schools that offer residential provision for more than 295 days a year and must therefore be registered as a children’s home.

83. When possible, we will attempt to carry out both inspections at the same time so that inspectors may work together and share evidence. In practice, inspectors from both teams will work closely together to plan inspection activities. They may carry out meetings with key personnel, such as the designated safeguarding lead(s) and the proprietor, together. The 2 teams will discuss their findings throughout the inspections and will share inspection evidence, where it is appropriate to do so. Examples of when it is appropriate to share evidence include assessing pupils’ attendance, the strengths of the links between the day school and the children’s home provision, and if concerns are raised with inspectors about the welfare of children in the day school and/or children’s home.

84. When the education inspection of a school that is also registered as a children’s home takes place as a standalone event, inspectors must read the most recent education and children’s home reports on the preparation day. They must make themselves aware of any current issues concerning children’s welfare that may affect aspects of the school inspection by contacting the lead social care regulatory inspector or that inspector’s manager. Inspectors will ensure that they take these into consideration during the inspection.

Concurrent inspections

85. We may schedule inspections at the same time for ‘linked provision’, which is when one or more schools have arrangements to share important aspects of their provision, such as sixth-form programmes or an inclusion unit. Inspectors will make sure that they communicate with each other before and during the inspections. They will also share evidence electronically where it is appropriate to do so. Inspectors can share:

• key lines of enquiry that emerge during planning, when the issues are likely to affect both/all of the schools

• findings with the inspectors in the other inspection team during the inspection

86. Inspectors will not rely solely on this shared evidence to make their judgements. Shared information must be followed up by inspectors’ own evidence gathering.

Before the inspection

Notification and lead inspector’s preparation

Notification

87. We will contact the school by telephone to announce a graded or ungraded inspection after 9.30am on a Monday morning. Schools may be notified of an urgent or monitoring inspection on any day (see paragraph 491). Also, if a school has been notified of an inspection that is subsequently deferred, we can notify that school of the new inspection date on any day of the week. If a school is open in a week that includes a bank holiday, we may notify the school on the Tuesday of that week.

88. By exception, we reserve the right to carry out a graded, ungraded or urgent inspection without notice. Where this is the case, the lead inspector will normally telephone the school about 15 minutes before arriving on site.

89. If the headteacher is unavailable when the notification call is made, we will ask to speak to the most senior member of school staff available. Once we have informed the school by telephone that the inspection will take place, we will send confirmation to the school by email.

90. During the initial notification phone call, we will ask the school to confirm the information we hold about it. This will include the number of pupils on roll. We will also ask whether any adult lives on the school premises. If adults do live on the premises, inspectors will consider the school’s risk assessment as part of evaluating its safeguarding arrangements. Schools will be expected to demonstrate they have fully assessed any potential risks to children. This risk assessment should include:

• safeguarding checks of residents

• access between the residential accommodation and the rest of the premises

• which other individuals (such as family members and visitors) will access the residential accommodation

91. We will then send the school a letter setting out key information for leaders to be aware of before the inspection. This will include:

• Ofsted’s privacy notice

• informing the school that inspectors will use a range of technology to gather evidence electronically

• informing the school that inspectors may ask to take photographic evidence, for example of pupils’ work and displays, but that inspectors will not take photographs of pupils

• information that the school will need to make available to inspectors at the start of the inspection

• the links to pupil and staff questionnaires, so they can be shared

Requests for deferral or cancellation

92. While it is important that we carry out our planned inspections wherever possible, sometimes there may be reasons that a planned inspection may not go ahead and so a school may request a deferral of an inspection. A school may make a request during the initial notification phone call, or at the earliest opportunity afterwards, before the start of the inspection. Inspections may also, exceptionally, need to be paused once inspectors have arrived on site (see the ‘pausing school inspection’ section). We will not normally consider requests for deferral if we receive them after 4.30pm on the day the school is notified. The inspection support administrator or lead inspector must immediately contact the regional duty desk. We will decide whether to grant a deferral in accordance with our deferral policy.

93. Normally, if the school is providing education to pupils, an inspection will go ahead. In exceptional circumstances, however, an inspection might be cancelled or deferred after the school has been notified, following a request made by the school. We will aim to let the school know whether a request is granted on the same day it is made, but in some cases, particularly when the request for deferral comes later, this may happen by 8am the next morning.

94. If a school is within 6 months of confirmed closure, and this is evidenced in a funding agreement, for example, but the school does not request a cancellation when notified of an inspection, the lead inspector will call the regional duty desk to highlight this and get advice about whether the inspection should still be carried out. Decisions will be made case by case.

95. In the case of an inspection without notice, any requests for a deferral will be passed to Ofsted’s relevant regional director, who will decide whether the request can be granted.

Preparatory telephone call(s) from the lead inspector to the headteacher

96. Once we have informed the school of the inspection, the lead inspector will contact the school by telephone or video and ask to speak to the headteacher. This is an opportunity for the headteacher to provide a fuller context of the school that may not be expressed sufficiently through data alone. It is also an opportunity for the headteacher to discuss the particular circumstances of the school that have had a role in the decisions made by leaders. Inspectors’ preparatory telephone conversations with headteachers have 2 elements:

• a short inspection-planning conversation that focuses on practical and logistical arrangements

• a longer, reflective, educationally focused conversation about the school’s progress since the last inspection, including how COVID-19 has affected this

97. The lead inspector will encourage the headteacher to have at least one other senior leader present during both calls, to assist and support them. This will usually be colleagues who typically deputise for them (or a member of trust staff) and who can understand and discuss the educational content of the calls.

98. We understand that there is a great deal of information to be discussed at this stage of the inspection. For this reason it may be helpful to discuss these elements in 2 or more separate conversations with a break in between. The lead inspector will discuss what will work best for the headteacher.

Inspection planning conversation

99. This conversation will be short and focused on practical issues. The lead inspector will:

• check on the headteacher’s well-being, and find out whether any steps need to be taken to ensure any issues or concerns are addressed, including that appropriate support is available. The lead inspector should ascertain how to contact whoever is responsible for the headteacher’s well-being on a day-to-day basis (normally the local authority or trust), so that they can pass on well-being concerns when appropriate and necessary

• make the school aware of the help and support for the headteacher’s and staff’s well-being that is available through the charity Education Support

• make the school aware of its statutory duty to inform parents of the inspection and that the Ofsted Parent View tool is the main method for gathering the views of parents at the point of inspection; inspectors will remind the school that Ofsted’s letter to parents containing the link to Ofsted Parent View may be sent electronically, or a paper copy may be given to pupils to take home

• check that the school has received the links to staff and pupil surveys in the notification letter

• confirm whether the school has a religious character

• establish whether the school is part of any wider federation or partnership arrangement

• confirm the governance arrangements for the school

• discuss the nature of any specially resourced provision or designated unit for pupils with SEND or other pupils, if applicable, including:

  • the number of pupils who have been placed in provision funded from a resource base, and the range of these pupils’ needs

  • pupils’ timetables, including when they are taught in mainstream classes (with and without support) and when they receive specialist support in a separate resource base

  • the type(s) of language and/or communication systems used; if the specialist provision is for deaf pupils, it is important to establish whether it uses British Sign Language and whether the school will provide a British Sign Language interpreter when inspectors meet with the pupils. If the school is not providing an interpreter but one is needed, the lead inspector will contact the regional duty desk as soon as possible

  • staffing arrangements and details of any outreach services provided by the resource base

• establish whether the school provides any other alternative or specially resourced provision/designated units for particular pupils

• discuss any nursery provision (see the ‘provision for 2- and 3-year-olds’ section), before- and/or after-school care and holiday clubs led and managed directly by the school, particularly if these take 2- to 8-year-olds (if the school offers before and/or after-school care for its own pupils, inspectors will consider this provision as part of the school inspection)

• establish whether the school is linked to a children’s home, and if so whether the children’s home is managed by the school

• clarify whether the school has boarding or residential provision, and if so the:

  • number of boarding houses or residential units and their addresses

  • number of boarders or residential pupils on roll

• establish whether the school has any pupils who attend off-site alternative provision, either full time or part time, run either by the school or by a different organisation; if the school uses off-site alternative provision, the lead inspector will ask for further details about this, including:

  • the number of pupils who attend

  • the number of off-site alternative providers used currently

  • the URNs and addresses of the alternative providers

  • the names and addresses of the alternative providers (if there is no URN for one or more alternative providers)

  • the range of needs that these providers cater for

  • the timetables for the pupils who attend

• arrange to visit a sample of off-site alternative providers during the inspection. Inspectors may visit a sample of any part-time unregistered alternative providers during the inspection, as directed by the relevant Ofsted region. They may also visit any registered alternative provision that we have not yet inspected. Inspectors may also contact providers by telephone (see ‘evaluating schools’ use of alternative provision on graded inspections’)

• establish which approach to the early career framework the school is using for early career teachers (ECTs)

• ask the headteacher if the school is experiencing, or has recently experienced, any tensions in or pressures from the community. If it has, the inspector will ask for details, including what the headteacher/school has done in response

• invite the headteacher and other leaders, as agreed by the lead inspector and headteacher, to take part in joint visits to lessons

• make arrangements for meetings with relevant staff (and any person that the staff member wishes to be present for those meetings)

• agree whether it may be pragmatic to do some elements of the inspection through video or telephone calls. This will usually only be to involve parents and those with leadership, trust or governance responsibility who are unable to attend

• ask the headteacher to read Ofsted’s code of conduct, which sets out expectations for both inspectors and providers, and explain that if the headteacher has any concerns about inspectors not acting in accordance with the code of conduct, they should raise this as soon as possible with the lead inspector. This is so that any issues can be resolved before the on-site inspection activity is completed

• provide an opportunity for the school to give us information about any other factors they consider relevant to their current context, and ask any questions or to raise any concerns, such as perceived conflicts of interest

• provide an opportunity for the school to discuss and/or give us information on potential equalities duties, including reasonable adjustments for individuals

• give the school an opportunity to raise any issues or concerns, or to seek clarification before the inspection, and explain how the school will be able to raise any matters during the inspection itself

100. To help leaders understand how the inspection is progressing and to maintain constructive professional dialogue, the lead inspector will use this call to invite the headteacher, and at least one other member of staff, to observe the inspection team meetings at the end of each day. The lead inspector will make it clear that attendance at the meeting is optional and that the headteacher may leave at any point if they wish. The lead inspector will also explain to leaders that, while team meetings are opportunities for the lead and team inspectors to share evidence and consider the emerging evaluation of the school, the lead inspector may also discuss with leaders their reflections on what they have heard. This will give leaders the opportunity to:

• clarify any factual matters

• draw inspectors’ attention to any other specific matters

• contribute to planning the day 2 timetable

The meeting on day 2 will help leaders to understand the evidence on which the inspectors are basing their judgements.

101. The lead inspector will also ask the school to provide certain information as early as possible to aid preparation. This will include:

• a copy of the school’s timetable(s), where relevant

• details of any relevant staff absence

• any requests to not visit any specific lesson or lessons (for example, if a teacher is subject to capability procedures)

102. It is important that inspectors speak to leaders and governors/trustees during inspections. There are a wide variety of leadership and governance models in the school sector, so it is essential that inspectors establish who is responsible for what.

103. In a maintained school, the lead inspector will:

• establish the governance structure of the school and confirm arrangements for meetings with the school, the board of governors and anyone else the lead inspector thinks would be relevant

• make arrangements for, as a minimum, a meeting with the chair of the board of governors and as many governors as are available

• ask the school to invite as many governors as are available to attend the final feedback meeting

• request either a face-to-face meeting or a telephone call with a representative from the local authority, diocese or other relevant responsible body

• request that a representative from the local authority, diocese or other relevant responsible body is present at the final inspection feedback meeting

• invite the school to consider if there are any reasons, of either a personal or professional nature, that may mean they wish to ask for a deferral

104. In an academy, the lead inspector will:

• establish the governance structure of the academy and of the trust

• consult the academy and trust in order to determine the different levels of responsibility and oversight within the trust and so who they need to meet from the trust, for example who (in the trust and in the school) is responsible for key decisions about safeguarding, behaviour and curriculum content

• if the trust has delegated responsibilities to local committees (known as local governing bodies in trusts’ articles of association), clarify where responsibility lies and who they should talk to during the inspection. This should be set out in a scheme of delegation. Academies should also set out their governance structure in their annual financial statements, which can generally be found on the DfE performance tables site

• confirm arrangements for a meeting with leaders (in both the academy and the trust) that will include the CEO and anyone else agreed between the headteacher, CEO and lead inspector (see ‘approach to the trust in school inspections’ section below)

• make arrangements for one meeting, as a minimum, with the chair of the board of trustees (or their delegate) and as many trustees as are available. Inspectors will also ask the school to invite as many trustees as are available to attend the final feedback meeting

• request either a face-to-face meeting or a telephone call with a representative from the diocese, sponsor or other relevant responsible body

• request that a representative from the diocese, sponsor or other relevant responsible body attends the final inspection feedback meeting

• invite the school to consider if there are any reasons, of either a personal or professional nature, that may mean they wish to ask for a deferral

105. If any issues arise, the lead inspector may also need further clarification from the school, for example when information is not available on the school’s website.

Preparation carried out by the lead inspector

106. To prepare for the educationally focused conversation, and the inspection as a whole, inspectors will review and consider:

• all relevant information held by Ofsted, including:

  • inspection reports on the school, including the section 48 report for schools with a designated religious character

  • any surveys or monitoring letters

  • where relevant, the multi-academy trust summary evaluation (MATSE) report

  • Ofsted’s inspection data summary report (IDSR)

  • responses from Ofsted’s Parent View

  • relevant complaints made about the school to Ofsted

• other information on Ofsted’s provider information portal, which provides a high-level view of information about providers that we inspect and regulate, including any warning notices

• relevant publicly available information, such as the school’s website and the trust’s website, including:

  • a statement of the school’s values and ethos

  • the school’s opening hours

• information about the curriculum

• information about the use of tutoring in the school

• information on the careers programme for pupils in Years 7 to 13

  • policies (for example on safeguarding, behaviour, and relationships, sex and health education)

  • use of funding (for example, pupil premium and catch-up funding)

  • information about SEND provision (for example, SEND information report and accessibility plan)

  • information schools are required to publish related to Equality Act 2010 duties

  • information about governance

  • for an academy, the trust’s scheme of delegation

• any other information about the school (including safeguarding) that is publicly available, including information reported in the press or online

• the most recent inspection report on the relevant local authority’s children’s services

• the main findings from the relevant local area SEND inspection, including (where relevant) arrangements for identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of young children with SEND

• information published by local authorities, the DfE (including the Education and Skills Funding Agency and regional school commissioners) and the police

The educationally focused conversation

107. The educationally focused conversation will normally last around 90 minutes, but may be longer. It will help the lead inspector and headteacher to establish a constructive professional relationship for the inspection and give them a shared understanding of the starting point of the inspection. It will also help inspectors to form an initial understanding of leaders’ views of the school and its progress since the previous inspection.

108. This conversation will be used to agree the day 1 inspection plan with the headteacher.

109. We encourage headteachers to have at least one other senior leader present during this call, to assist and support them. This will usually be staff who typically deputise for them (or a member of trust staff) and who can understand and discuss the educational content of the calls. They may also wish to have someone present to take notes.

110. Inspectors will use this conversation to understand:

• any changes to the school’s context, and the progress it has made since the previous inspection, including any specific progress on areas for improvement identified at previous inspections that remain relevant under the current inspection framework

• the specific impact of COVID-19 on the school and how leaders are responding to the ongoing impact. We recognise that responding to COVID-19 has placed great demands on leaders and detailed discussions of this may be required to understand the school’s context

• the headteacher’s assessment of the school’s current strengths and areas for further improvement, particularly in relation to the curriculum, the way teaching supports pupils to learn the curriculum, the standards that pupils achieve, pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, and pupils’ personal development

• where the school is an academy, the role of trust leaders, including which decisions they make centrally, and which are delegated to the headteacher and/or other school leaders (see ‘approach to the trust in school inspections’ section below)

• the specific areas or subjects of the school curriculum that inspectors should focus on during the inspection (for graded inspections, this will include which subjects will receive a deep dive)

SEND resource bases

111. If the school has a SEND resource base delegated to it by the local authority, that resource base must be inspected as part of the school inspection. Inspectors will consider evidence about the resource base when making judgements about the school.

Information that schools must provide by 8am on the day of inspection

112. We will send the school a letter setting out that the following information must be made available to inspectors by 8am the next day, at the formal start of the inspection:

• strategic documents about the school, including:

  • anything that sets out school improvement planning or the longer-term vision for the school, such as the school or the trust’s strategy

  • for maintained schools, minutes of governors’ meetings and other relevant strategic documentation about governance that the school may have

  • for academies, minutes of board of trustees’ meetings and other relevant strategic documentation about the trust that the school may have

  • a summary of any school self-evaluation or equivalent

  • any reports from any external evaluation of the school

• records and information about behaviour and attendance, including:

  • up-to-date attendance analysis for all groups of pupils

  • records and analysis of pupils taken off roll

  • records and analysis of exclusions and suspensions, incidents of poor behaviour and any use of internal isolation

  • records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudiced behaviour, either directly or indirectly, including racist, sexist, disability and homophobic/biphobic/transphobic bullying, use of derogatory language and racist incidents

  • records and analysis of sexual harassment and/or sexual violence

  • records and analysis of any restrictive physical intervention

• operational documents, including:

  • access to wifi, if it exists, so that inspectors can connect to the internet

  • maps and other practical information

  • the school timetable, current staff list (indicating ECTs, mentors and induction tutors) and times for the school day, including any planned interruptions to normal school routines during the inspection and whether any teachers should not be visited for any reason

Safeguarding information

113. On arrival at the school, inspectors must have secure access to safeguarding information, including:

• the single central record for the school

• a list of any referrals made to the designated safeguarding lead in the school and those that were subsequently referred to the local authority, along with brief details of the resolution (a very short summary of how the school dealt with the matter and assurance that pupils have received the appropriate help)

• any referrals made to the local authority designated officer regarding staff or other adults

• a list of all pupils who have open cases with children’s services or social care and all pupils who have a multi-agency plan (this is to ensure that the school knows who these pupils are, and is able to meet requirements). Inspectors may select some children to sample to ensure the school is doing what is required by ’keeping children safe in education: statutory guidance for schools and colleges’

114. Schools and inspectors must ensure that all actions are compliant with legal requirements on information-handling.

Seeking the views of parents, staff and pupils

Seeking the views of parents

115. We will provide schools with a letter to pass on to parents that formally notifies them of a graded or ungraded inspection. This letter explains how to use Ofsted Parent View and how parents can contact inspectors. Schools should encourage parents to complete the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire by placing a link to it on their website. In addition, inspectors will encourage the school to notify parents using its own electronic systems (such as text messages), if these are available.

116. Schools will be expected to provide these details to parents on both graded and ungraded inspections. However, schools should note that, for graded inspections, they are required by law to take any reasonably practicable steps to notify the parents of registered pupils at the school, including the parents of those who have been suspended, attend alternative provision or are away from school. Schools are also required by law to notify relevant bodies, including providers of alternative provision. Similarly, inspectors have a statutory duty to have regard to the views of parents and other relevant persons on graded inspections.

117. Inspectors will review the evidence from Ofsted Parent View throughout the inspection to ensure that all online responses received during the inspection are taken into account. If the response rate for Ofsted Parent View is low, inspectors may take steps during the inspection to gather further evidence of parents’ views. Inspectors will do this on both graded and ungraded inspections, but it should be noted that inspectors have a specific statutory duty to have regard of the views of parents and other relevant persons on a graded inspection.

118. Inspectors will also take into account any other evidence from parents, including the results of any past surveys the school has carried out or commissioned. If individual parents raise serious issues, inspectors will follow these up with the school and record its response.

119. During aligned inspections of boarding or residential special schools, inspectors will take account of the views that parents have given on Ofsted Parent View about the school’s boarding or residential provision. They will also take account of the views of children and young people who are boarders or residential pupils, and those of boarding staff, which will have been gathered through Ofsted’s annual point-in-time surveys.

Meetings with staff, pupils and parents

120. During the inspection, inspectors will need to speak to staff in a range of different roles. They will do so in line with our code of conduct, and at all times act with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect.

121. Staff (including leaders at all levels) may always be accompanied by another appropriate person when speaking to inspectors. However, it is important that staff are able to express their views freely to inspectors.

122. Inspectors should take careful account of the well-being of leaders and staff and adjust their approach or activity, as appropriate, as they go about their inspection work in the best interests of pupils. If inspectors see or suspect that a staff member (including all leaders and the headteacher) is upset or distressed at any point during the inspection, inspectors should respond sensitively. Where appropriate, inspectors will consider suitable adjustments to enable the staff member to continue. Where there are serious concerns, inspectors will contact duty desk, and will normally inform those responsible for the person’s well-being.

123. In exceptional circumstances, inspectors may need to consider pausing the inspection.

124. Meetings with pupils or parents must take place without the presence of any leaders or staff, unless there are relevant exceptional circumstances.

Pupil and staff questionnaires

125. The views of pupils and staff in schools are gathered through online questionnaires. The inspection support administrator sends online links to the school with the formal notification of inspection. The school is asked to encourage staff and pupils to complete the online questionnaires, except for those pupils in any boarding provision whose views will have already been sought through the point-in-time survey. Pupils and staff should complete their questionnaires by 3pm on the first day of the inspection. For ungraded inspections of schools with fewer than 150 pupils (which take place over 1 day), questionnaires should be completed by 11am on the day of inspection.

126. Inspectors may also gather evidence from pupils, parents or other stakeholders in person. This may include informal meetings at the start and/or end of the day. In drawing on evidence from these meetings, every attempt must be made to protect the identity of individuals. There may be circumstances, however, in which it is not possible to guarantee the anonymity of the interviewee. Inspectors have a duty to pass on disclosures that raise child protection or safeguarding issues and/or when there are concerns about serious misconduct, bullying of staff or criminal activity.

The inspection

Timetable of inspection

127. Graded and ungraded inspections normally last 2 days. However, an ungraded inspection of a primary school or maintained nursery school with fewer than 150 pupils or children on its roll will normally last for 1 day. The size of the inspection team will vary according to the size and nature of the school. Inspection activity will take place over both days of the inspection.

128. On each day of the inspection, inspectors will not arrive before 8am and will leave by 6pm except in exceptional circumstances (although they may need to stay later for inspections in boarding and residential schools).

129. On aligned inspections of boarding and residential special schools, the social care regulatory inspectors may stay into the evening to ensure that they are able to meet boarding or residential pupils and see the boarding or residential provision operating. How long they stay will depend on their lines of enquiry.

Pausing inspections

130. There may be exceptional occasions when we need to consider pausing an inspection. We will consider these on a case-by-case basis according to our published guidance on pausing inspections.

Inspection methodology

131. Our framework puts a series of joined-up professional conversations about education at the heart of inspection. It uses a 3-part methodology to inspect schools on graded and ungraded inspections. Through this methodology, inspectors build a view of the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management:

• from their pre-inspection preparation and the educationally focused conversation with the headteacher, the lead inspector will form a top-level view – an initial understanding of the curriculum, the way teaching supports pupils to learn the curriculum, the standards pupils achieve, pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, and the personal development of pupils

• inspectors will then collect and connect evidence for each of the judgement areas throughout the on-site part of the inspection

• towards the end of each day, inspectors will bring all the evidence together to draw the conclusions that will inform further inspection activity and/or inform their final judgements

132. Inspectors’ priority during inspections is to collect first-hand evidence.

Approach to the trust in school inspections

133. Inspectors will recognise that trusts are a single legal entity and that decisions made by individual academies and those by trust leaders cannot easily be separated, although inspectors must focus on decisions that impact only the specific academy they are inspecting. Inspectors will ensure that, through conversation with leaders (in the school and the trust), they identify the correct leaders, in the individual academy and the wider trust, to meet with during the course of the inspection. They will also recognise that trusts retain overall legal responsibility for all matters in the school, even where matters are delegated.

134. Inspectors will recognise that the trust leaders they need to speak to may be those who have delegated responsibility and that, where trusts are large, for example, this may be more than 1 person. Inspectors will not limit attendance at meetings or on inspection activities but will use their professional judgement to ensure that the right individuals are present and makes the most effective and efficient use of time.

135. Inspectors will, as a minimum, want to meet the CEO if possible but will recognise that (especially in large trusts) CEOs may need other senior trust leaders present to support these meetings. However, inspectors will want to understand how all leaders ensure that delegated responsibilities are carried out effectively, including how leaders assure themselves that systems are working as intended.

Keeping leaders informed

136. At the heart of our inspections is a professional dialogue between inspectors and leaders and so the lead inspector will agree a process for keeping leaders informed of progress throughout the inspection. This will normally mean regular meetings with the headteacher and/or any other previously agreed school leader(s) (at a minimum, at the start, middle and end of each day) to:

• provide updates on emerging evidence, including initial general findings, and to enable further evidence to be provided

• allow the headteacher to raise any issues or concerns, or to seek clarification, including related to the conduct of the inspection or of individual inspectors

• alert the headteacher to any serious concerns

• inform the headteacher if, by the end of day 1 or during day 2, there is emerging evidence that a key or provision judgement is likely to be graded as requires improvement or inadequate. The lead inspector must emphasise that final judgements are not made until the final team meeting at the end of day 2

Early career teachers

137. Inspectors will meet ECTs where possible and may wish to visit ECTs’ lessons. When the lead inspector requests a copy of the current staff list, they must ask whether it includes any ECTs and/or any trainees on placement, including those on School Direct or School Direct (salaried) training routes or post-graduate teaching apprenticeships (PGTA).

138. Inspectors will take into account the fact that ECTs have less experience than other teachers. However, they must assess the effectiveness of the support and professional development put in place for ECTs to ensure that ECTs have the knowledge and skills necessary to teach in their chosen subject or phase.

139. Inspectors should also gather ECTs’ views on how the school is supporting their development, including the quality of mentoring and how the school ensures that they access their entitlement to training under the ECF. Inspectors will also discuss how the school supports ECTs in managing pupils’ behaviour.

140. Inspectors will meet with mentors and, where possible, the induction tutor. Inspectors will meet any trainees employed by the school on the School Direct (salaried) route or PGTA route to assess their support, mentoring and induction.

141. Inspectors will not visit lessons taught by trainees. The teachers’ standards state that providers will assess trainees against the standards in a way that is consistent with what could reasonably be expected of a trainee teacher before the awarding of qualified teacher status (QTS). Inspectors will not take trainees’ performance into account when assessing the quality of education.

Meeting governors/trustees

142. Inspectors will want to meet those responsible for governance during the inspection. In a maintained school, this will usually be the school governors. In an academy, this will be the board of trustees.

143. In a school that is part of a trust, the board of trustees is the accountable entity and governance body. Often, local governing bodies can appear responsible for governance, when in reality it is trustees who are accountable for the academy trust. Local governing bodies are committees to which trustees may choose to delegate some specific responsibilities, but in some cases, they may act purely as advisory bodies and engage with the community. Their responsibilities are set out in the trust’s scheme of delegation. Sometimes, their powers are delegated from trust leaders; if this is the case, they are part of the school’s management, not its governance. Inspectors will therefore need to be careful to establish who has overall responsibility for governance. Inspectors will also ensure that meetings are with those who are directly responsible for exercising governance of the school and for overseeing its performance.

144. Inspectors will take account of the specific context of the school in deciding who to speak to. For example, this may include inviting diocesan representatives for a multi-academy company.

145. The role that governors and trustees play in the school’s performance is evaluated as part of the judgement on the effectiveness of leadership and management.

146. As with meetings with pupils and parents, meetings or telephone discussions with those responsible for governance should take place without leaders being present (except where leaders are also governors/trustees), unless there are exceptional circumstances that have been discussed with the lead inspector.

Other evidence

147. Inspectors will also scrutinise a range of school records, documentation and information relating to, for example, pupils’ behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

148. We may use the evidence that inspectors gather during inspections to inform other work, such as national reporting, for example our education recovery series.

Inspection of religious education and collective worship

149. The Secretary of State designates certain schools as having a religious character. In a faith school, pupils are educated in the context of the principle of a religion. It is normal for there to be a formal link with a religious organisation. In schools without a religious character, we inspect religious education (RE) and collective worship as part of our graded inspections. This is different in schools with a religious character. In most of these schools, denominational education and collective worship are inspected by a body appointed by the maintained school’s board of governors under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 or as provided in the academy’s funding agreement. In a voluntary controlled school designated as having a religious character, we inspect RE, but not collective worship.

150. Inspectors may gather evidence from anywhere relevant (including RE lessons and assemblies) to evaluate pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education, personal development and/or behaviour and attitudes.

151. The fact that the school has been designated as having a religious character must be referenced in the ‘information about this school’ section of the inspection report.

152. Section 48 inspections or the equivalent inspection of an academy) are usually carried out every 3 to 5 years (and usually within 2 to 3 years of a new voluntary-aided school or academy or free school opening). Section 48 inspections were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and restarted in September 2021. The first inspection will be within 8 years of the last, rather than the usual 3 to 5 years. The lead inspector on a graded inspection will check the section 48 arrangements. This includes when the next inspection is due and when the last inspection was. They will write about this in the inspection report. They will ensure that the required consultation has taken place with the prescribed faith body, when a school has a prescribed faith body and decides not to use that body’s inspection service but to appoint its own inspector.

153. Inspectors will familiarise themselves with any issues raised in any section 48 inspection (or equivalent) held since the last Ofsted inspection. Inspectors will not, however, use that evidence in an Ofsted inspection. The lead inspector will note in the inspection report if the section 48 inspection (or equivalent inspection of an academy) is overdue and that, therefore, the school is failing in its statutory duty.

154. If a section 48 inspection (or equivalent inspection of an academy) happens at the same time as an Ofsted graded inspection, inspectors will mention this in the ‘information about this school’ section.

Specific matters for graded inspections

Inspection of the school’s approach to harmful sexual behaviour

155. On graded inspections, we will look at how leaders ensure that their school’s culture addresses harmful sexual behaviour. Inspectors will expect schools to assume that sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence are happening in the community, and potentially in the school, even when there are no specific reports, and put in place a whole-school approach to address them.

156. Schools should have appropriate and well-communicated school-wide policies in place that make it clear that sexual harassment (including sexual harassment through sexualised language), online sexual abuse and sexual violence are unacceptable. Those policies should be consistently reflected throughout the school (see paragraphs 314, 339, and 407 and 408).

Specific matters for ungraded inspections

157. On an ungraded inspection, inspectors may consider any of the areas set out in the sections Evaluating the quality of education, Evaluating behaviour and attitudes, Evaluating personal development and Evaluating leadership and management. However, inspectors will not carry out deep dives on ungraded inspections. Inspectors usually focus on:

• leadership and management – inspectors will consider whether leaders take effective action to sustain and/or improve performance across all areas of the school’s work, and whether they make decisions in the best interests of children

• quality of education – inspectors will consider the extent to which pupils achieve well and are well prepared for their next steps

• behaviour – inspectors will consider whether the school is a safe and positive environment for pupils and whether pupils get the support they need

• attendance – inspectors will consider whether school staff are doing all they reasonably can to achieve the highest possible attendance

• pupils’ personal development – inspectors will consider the extent to which pupils are well prepared for life beyond the school

Inspectors will also consider staff’s well-being (including workload) (see ‘Evaluating leadership and management’. They will be particularly alert to any evidence that the school may be gaming or off-rolling. Definitions of these can be found in the ‘evaluating gaming on a graded inspection’ and ‘evaluating a school’s approach to inclusion and off-rolling on a graded inspection’ sections.

158. On ungraded inspections, inspectors will normally take the same approach to inspecting safeguarding as they use on a graded inspection. This is set out in the ‘safeguarding’ section.

159. If the lead inspector has concerns about any of the above, this could be evidence that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection. This will result in the school receiving a graded inspection around 1 to 2 years later (see outcomes of an ungraded inspection).

160. If the lead inspector has serious concerns, they will usually deem the inspection to be a graded inspection within 48 hours (see outcomes of an ungraded inspection).

Providing feedback

161. At the end of the final day of the inspection, inspectors will make an overall evaluation of the evidence and make their final judgements. They will record the main points for feedback to the school in the evidence base. The on-site inspection ends with a final feedback meeting with the school. Those connected with the school who may attend include:

• the headteacher and, for an academy, the CEO (or equivalent or delegate)

• any person the headteacher or CEO wants present to assist and support them

• for maintained schools, the chair of the school’s board of governors and as many governors as are available; the clerk to governors (or equivalent), or their delegate, may also attend to take notes (there can be more than one note-taker if desired)

• for academies, the chair of the board of trustees, or their delegate, and as many trustees as are available; the clerk to the board, or their delegate, may also attend to take notes (there can be more than one note-taker if desired)

• a representative from the local authority (always for maintained schools and additionally for academies where safeguarding is found to be ineffective)

• a representative from the sponsor and/or the designated responsible body, diocese or other responsible body

• in an aligned inspection, social care regulatory inspectors and education inspectors, who will provide feedback to education and residential staff

162. Due to the diverse nature of school governance, in some schools a single individual may have more than one of the above roles.

163. The lead inspector may agree that other leaders can attend. If the feedback is likely to be challenging or is likely to raise difficult issues, the lead inspector will be sensitive to any implications arising from this feedback and will, therefore, discuss with the headteacher which other people may attend to ensure the necessary support for school leaders.

164. Attendance at the feedback meeting is voluntary and any attendee may leave at any time, including leaving for a short time and then returning.

165. During this meeting, the lead inspector will ensure that the headteacher, the CEO, governors, trustees and all other attendees are clear:

• about the key findings from the inspection. The lead inspector must give sufficient detail to enable all attendees to understand how judgements have been reached and for governors/trustees to play a part in beginning to plan how to improve

• for graded inspections, about the provisional grades awarded for each key judgement and any provision judgements. They will also ensure that schools understand that the grades are provisional and so may be subject to change as a result of quality assurance procedures or moderation. We expect leaders to share the inspection outcomes and findings with whoever they deem appropriate. They should be shared with governors/trustees, irrespective of whether they attended the meeting (and irrespective of what other role they may hold (for example, a teacher governor). Leaders may also share inspection outcomes, in confidence, with others who are not involved with the school. This may include leaders’ colleagues, family members, medical advisers and/or their wider support group. However, the information should not be made public or shared with parents

• that the main findings of the inspection and the main points provided orally in the feedback, subject to any change, will be referred to in the text of the report, although the text of the report may differ slightly from the oral feedback

• about what the school needs to improve: this will appear in the inspection report as ‘What does the school need to do to improve?’

• that, on receiving the draft report, they should ensure that the report is not published until the school receives a copy of the final inspection report

• that the headteacher is invited and encouraged to complete the post-inspection survey

• about the implications of the school being placed in a category of concern if any key judgement is inadequate and/or if safeguarding is ineffective, using the wording set out in the ‘schools causing concern’ section

• that if we have decided to suspend the inspection in line with the criteria set out in paragraph 412, we will deem the inspection incomplete. Inspectors will explain that the school will not be placed in a category of concern at this point, as the inspection has not concluded

• that, in addition to being able to raise concerns at any stage during the inspection, the school has an opportunity to raise any issues or concerns, or to seek clarification about the inspection at this stage, and can contact Ofsted after the inspection has ended, if necessary

• about the procedure for making a complaint about the inspection

Procedures when placing a school in a category of concern on a graded inspection

166. If, by the end of the first day of the inspection or during day 2, the lead inspector thinks it is possible that the school might have serious weaknesses or need special measures, they must make the school’s leadership aware of this (see the ‘keeping leaders informed’) section.

167. The lead inspector must also ring Ofsted’s duty desk. The duty desk colleague will ask for their name and the name and URN of the school. They will then be put through to one of the HMI on duty. In this call, the lead inspector must talk through the evidence used in reaching emerging judgement(s) of inadequate. The judgements are not confirmed at this point. The lead inspector must record the main points of the conversation in the evidence base.

168. During the second day of the inspection, the lead inspector may contact the duty desk again to discuss emerging findings. If the inspection team has made one or more provisional key judgement(s) of inadequate and/or thinks safeguarding is ineffective (which would lead to serious weaknesses or special measures), the lead inspector must telephone the duty desk before the final oral feedback meeting with the school. The lead inspector will be prepared to explain briefly the reasons and underpinning evidence for the inadequate judgement(s).

Informing a school that it is deemed to be causing concern

169. If a school is provisionally judged to require special measures or to have serious weaknesses, inspectors must use the following words during the final feedback to the school. They must explain that the judgement(s) are subject to moderation by HMIs and, in the case of special measures, agreement by HMCI.

• When the school has serious weaknesses:

• When the school requires special measures:

170. The implications for schools causing concern are set out in the ‘schools causing concern’ section.

Appointment of ECTs in schools judged to require special measures

171. The Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (England) Regulations 2012 state that ECTs (not including trainee teachers already appointed on employment-based training programmes) may not be appointed to maintained schools or PRUs judged to require special measures, unless we have given permission in writing. We do not have similar powers with respect to academies judged to require special measures; but, in our report, we may strongly recommend that an academy should not appoint ECTs. However, this is only advisory.

172. When inspectors decide (on a graded inspection) that a school requires special measures, they will consider whether the school should, from that point on, be able to appoint ECTs. If the lead inspector considers that the school has the ability to give ECTs the support they require, they will include one of the following statements in the inspection report:

• for maintained schools: The school may appoint early career teachers before the next monitoring inspection

• for academies: Having considered the evidence, we are of the opinion that the school may appoint early career teachers

173. Otherwise, they will include the following:

• for maintained schools: The school may not appoint early career teachers before the next monitoring inspection

• for academies: We strongly recommend that the school does not seek to appoint early career teachers

174. We will consider the position again during any monitoring visit that we carry out, and the report of the visit will contain similar wording. At any other time, the school may write to HMCI to ask us to reconsider the position, and it could receive permission in a letter instead.

After the inspection

Arrangements for publishing the report

175. The lead inspector is responsible for writing the inspection report and submitting the evidence to Ofsted shortly after the inspection ends. The text of the report should explain the judgements and reflect the evidence. The findings in the report should be consistent with the feedback given to the school at the end of the inspection.

176. Inspection reports are sent to the school following moderation and quality assurance. We aim to send reports to schools as quickly as reasonably possible. In most circumstances, we will send the draft report to the school within 18 working days of the end of the inspection.

177. The school will have 5 working days to comment on the draft report. It can highlight minor points relating to the clarity and/or factual accuracy of the report, or it can submit a formal complaint seeking a review of the inspection process, including the judgements made or concerns about inspector conduct (see paragraph 178). If it only submits minor points of clarity or factual accuracy, we will consider and respond to these when we share the final report with the school. This will normally be within 30 working days of the end of the inspection. As set out above, we expect leaders to share the inspection outcome and findings with governors/trustees and whoever they deem appropriate (see paragraph 165). We may also send the draft report to the DfE and other bodies. This will only take place following moderation or quality assurance.

178. If the school wishes to make a formal complaint, we will follow the process set out in our published complaints procedure. We will respond to any complaint before we finalise and send the report to the school. If the school has previously chosen to highlight some minor points of clarity or factual accuracy on the draft inspection report (see paragraph 177), it will not normally be able to submit a formal complaint or challenge later. We will publish the final report on our our reports website 5 working days after sending it to the school.

Figure 1: Ofsted’s post-inspection and complaints procedure

179. For graded inspections, once a school has received its final report, it is required to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure that every parent of a registered pupil at the school receives a copy of the report within 5 working days (section 14(4)(c) of the Education Act 2005). Schools may wish to consider whether emails to parents and/or publication on the school’s website can fulfil this requirement.

180. The evidence base for the inspection must be retained in line with our published privacy notice.

Quality assurance

181. All inspectors are responsible for the quality of their work. The lead inspector must ensure that inspections are carried out in accordance with the principles of inspection and the code of conduct.

182. We monitor the quality of inspections through a range of formal processes, and HMI/Senior HMI visit some schools or monitor remotely to quality assure inspections. We may also evaluate the quality of an inspection evidence base. The lead inspector will be responsible for giving team inspectors feedback about the quality of their work and their conduct. In very rare circumstances, if we find a weakness in the inspection process, we may carry out a further visit to gather additional evidence.

183. All schools are invited to take part in a voluntary post-inspection survey in order to contribute to inspection development. The link to this survey is provided when the school receives the final copy of its inspection report.

Handling concerns and complaints

184. The great majority of our work is carried out smoothly and without incident. If concerns do arise during the inspection, they should be raised with the lead inspector as soon as possible, in order to resolve issues before the on-site inspection activity is completed. Any concerns raised, and actions taken, will be recorded in the inspection evidence. If there are any concerns that it is not possible to resolve with the lead inspector during the inspection, the headteacher, another senior leader, the local authority or a trust representative can contact a senior Ofsted leader using the number provided as part of the notification process (usually during the preparatory telephone call(s) with the headteacher). In exceptional circumstances, this might lead to the inspection being paused (see pausing inspections).

185. If an issue remains unresolved, the school or responsible body can contact Ofsted after the end of the inspection. This will be an opportunity for the school to raise informal concerns about the inspection process or outcomes, ask about next steps or highlight information that they feel was not fully considered during the inspection. This will be directed to a senior inspector who is independent of the inspection, to discuss and to resolve, where appropriate, at the earliest opportunity.

186. If it is not possible to resolve concerns during the inspection or through a telephone call after the inspection, the school may wish to lodge a formal complaint when it receives the draft report. The lead inspector will ensure that the school is informed that it is able to make a formal complaint and that information about how to complain is available on GOV.UK.

Use of Ofsted logos

187. Schools judged to be outstanding or good for overall effectiveness before September 2024 can use specific Ofsted logos to promote that judgement, for example on their websites. You can find more information in our logo terms of use.

188. Schools that receive a graded inspection from September 2024 onwards may no longer use the Ofsted judgement logos as they relate only to overall effectiveness, which is no longer part of our judgements.

Inspection outcomes

Outcomes of a graded inspection: judgements

Schools with key or provision judgements graded as requires improvement

189. A school that has one or more judgements of requires improvement following a graded inspection, but is not placed in a formal category of concern, may be subject to monitoring by Ofsted. Inspectors will direct the school to Ofsted’s monitoring handbook.

Schools causing concern: special measures and serious weaknesses

190. Following a graded inspection, if any key judgement is inadequate and/or safeguarding is ineffective, we will place the school in a formal category of concern.

191. In these cases, inspectors should decide whether the school has serious weaknesses or requires special measures. Inspectors must first consider whether the school is failing to give an acceptable standard of education:

• if both quality of education and personal development are judged as requires improvement or better, inspectors will conclude that the school is giving an acceptable standard of education and will judge the school to have serious weaknesses

• if either quality of education or personal development is judged as inadequate, inspectors will conclude that the school is failing to give an acceptable standard of education

192. Inspectors must then consider whether school leaders, trust leaders (in academies) and governors/trustees are showing the capacity to improve the school.

Serious weaknesses

193. If inspectors conclude that the school is failing to give pupils an acceptable standard of education but school leaders, trust leaders (in academies) and governors/trustees are showing the capacity to improve, they will judge the school to have serious weaknesses.

Special measures

194. If inspectors conclude that the school is failing to give pupils an acceptable standard of education and those responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not showing the capacity to improve, they will judge it to need special measures.

Capacity to improve

195. In deciding whether schools have the capacity to improve, inspectors should not simply consider a school’s potential but the extent to which leaders:

• are able to identify and prioritise the right issues (shown by the accurate identification of the issues and effective evaluation processes to identify any future issues)

• take appropriate and timely action to address the identified issues, including the effective use of internal and external support, where necessary

• have a track record of improvement, even if the desired outcome has not yet been achieved, so that there is confidence that improvements will be swift and sustainable

• have done all that they can be reasonably expected to do in the time available and the circumstances in which they work

Implications for a school causing concern

196. Schools causing concern will be monitored in accordance with the policies set out in the monitoring handbook.

197. Maintained schools and PRUs that are judged to be causing concern will be subject to an academy order as set out in the DfE’s statutory guidance. The Secretary of State has a duty to make an academy order for all maintained schools judged to have serious weaknesses (‘requiring significant improvement’) and those that require special measures. This includes maintained special schools, but excludes maintained nursery schools and non-maintained special schools. For academies that are causing concern, the Secretary of State has a power to terminate the funding agreement, and the academy may join another trust.

198. Whether becoming a new academy or being brokered or rebrokered, these schools will become new sponsored academies. We will then inspect them as new schools within 3 years of operation and normally in the third academic year (or 5th year if they opened before September 2020). However, in exceptional circumstances, schools that are becoming new academies or being rebrokered may receive an ungraded inspection before their next graded inspection.

199. Academies judged to have serious weaknesses will normally be reinspected within 2.5 years of the publication of the inspection report in which they were judged to have serious weaknesses. (For the first inspection after the pandemic, this period will be extended by up to 2 years.)

200. The timing of the next graded inspection for academies subject to special measures will be determined by the academy’s rate of improvement. However, it will normally take place within 2.5 years of the publication of the inspection report that judged it to require special measures (for the first inspection after the pandemic, this period will be extended by up to 2 years).

201. Maintained nursery schools and non-maintained special schools judged inadequate are not subject to academy orders.

Taking a school out of a category of concern

202. When an inspection team judges that a school no longer requires special measures, inspectors must use the following words during the final feedback to the school:

203. When an inspection team judges that a school previously judged to have serious weaknesses no longer has serious weaknesses, inspectors must use the following words during the final feedback to the school:

Outcomes of an ungraded inspection

204. There are 4 possible outcomes for an ungraded inspection.

• Outcome 1 – the school has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. This will mean either:

  • there is no evidence that any key or provision judgement would be lower if a graded inspection took place

  • there is evidence that one or more key or provision judgements may be lower if a graded inspection took place, but it would still be good

• Outcome 2 – evidence gathered during this inspection suggests that the school’s work may have improved significantly across all areas since the previous inspection. This will mean, if a graded inspection took place:

  • at least one key or provision judgement would be higher

  • none would be lower

  • all would be outstanding

• Outcome 3 – evidence gathered during this inspection suggests that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection. This will mean:

  • at least one key or provision judgement would be lower if a graded inspection took place

  • that judgement would now be requires improvement or inadequate

• Outcome 4 – the school may now be inadequate in one or more of the key judgements under a graded inspection, and there are serious concerns about the quality of education, pupils’ behaviour or safeguarding. The ungraded inspection will usually be deemed to be a graded inspection within 48 hours.

205. Inspectors will always report on whether safeguarding is effective. If there is evidence that safeguarding may be ineffective, the lead inspector will always deem the ungraded inspection to be a graded inspection.

Schools that are maintaining standards (outcome 1)

206. Where the lead inspector judges that the school has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at previous inspection, they will confirm this in the final feedback to the school at the end of the ungraded inspection.

207. Following this, the school will normally receive an ungraded inspection around 4 years later. (For the first inspection after the pandemic, this period will be extended by up to 2 years.)

208. This is the most common outcome.

Schools with work improved since previous inspection (outcome 2)

209. Where the lead inspector judges that the school’s work may have improved significantly across all areas since the previous inspection, they will explain that this is likely to be their conclusion (subject to quality assurance of the inspection). They will tell the school that its next inspection will likely be a graded (section 5) inspection.

210. The school will then receive a report that makes clear that its next inspection will be a graded inspection. The report will highlight the reasons why inspectors believe that the school’s work has improved significantly.

211. The graded inspection will usually take place within 1 to 2 years after the publication of the ungraded inspection report, giving the school time for the strong practice and marked improvements to be consolidated. The decision on the timing of the full graded inspection will be for the relevant Ofsted regional director to determine. Schools may request an early inspection and these requests will be considered by the relevant Ofsted region.

212. The relevant regional director may choose to carry out an ungraded inspection instead, which can be up to 4 years after publication of the original ungraded inspection report, if they believe that a graded inspection is likely to serve no useful purpose. This decision would normally follow a request from a school. We will not draw any conclusions solely from a school making a request. The decision is always at the discretion of the regional director.

Schools with some aspects of work less strong than the previous inspection (outcome 3)

213. Where the lead inspector judges that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection, they will explain that this is likely to be their conclusion (subject to quality assurance of the inspection). They will tell the school that its next inspection will likely be a graded (section 5) inspection.

214. The school will then receive a letter setting out what the school is doing well and what it needs to improve.

215. After September 2024, a graded inspection will remove the school’s existing overall effectiveness grade. An ungraded inspection will not.

216. The school will subsequently receive a graded inspection, which will typically take place within 1 to 2 years of the publication of the ungraded inspection report.

217. It may be sooner, however, in order to comply with The Education (School Inspection) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2015, which require a graded inspection in these schools within 5 school years from the end of the school year in which the previous inspection took place (this will be 6 years for the school’s first inspection following the COVID-19 pandemic). This means that, for a small number of schools, the follow-on graded inspection may be carried out sooner than the usual 1 to 2 years after the inspection has taken place.

218. For outcomes 2 and 3, if a maintained school converts to become an academy before the graded inspection has been carried out, the school’s first inspection as a new academy will be a graded inspection at least 1 year after the school becomes an academy.

Ungraded inspection is deemed to be a graded inspection (outcome 4)

219. The ungraded inspection will be deemed to be a graded inspection, usually within 48 hours, if there are serious concerns about the quality of education, behaviour, potential gaming (including off-rolling) or safeguarding. This will occur if inspectors:

• find evidence that suggests that the ‘quality of education’ might be judged to be inadequate were a full graded inspection to take place at the time of the ungraded inspection. This may include a situation where the range of subjects being taught is very narrow (taking any COVID-19 catch-up factors into consideration)

• find evidence relating to behaviour that suggests that ‘behaviour and attitudes’ might be judged to be inadequate if a graded inspection was to take place at the time of the ungraded inspection

• find evidence that suggests that the school has removed pupils from the school roll without a formal, permanent exclusion, or encouraged parents to remove their child from the school roll, when the removal is primarily in the interests of the school rather than in the best interests of the pupil

• find evidence that deliberate gaming is taking place

• find evidence indicating that safeguarding may be ineffective

220. The ungraded inspection will be deemed to be a graded inspection (under the Education Act 2005) when the lead inspector has gathered evidence that suggests that the school would be inadequate in one or more of the key or (where applicable) provision judgements if it had received a graded inspection.

221. A decision to deem the inspection to be a graded inspection does not predetermine the outcome of the graded inspection. At the end of the graded inspection, the school may receive any grade along the 4-point grading scale for any judgement.

222. Where the ungraded inspection is HMI-led and is deemed to be a graded inspection, the HMI will normally remain the lead inspector for the graded inspection. However, where the ungraded inspection has been led by a contracted Ofsted Inspector (OI), the OI may either remain as the lead inspector for the graded inspection or an HMI may lead the graded inspection. More inspectors may join the lead inspector. The ungraded inspection will become a graded inspection, and the team will gather and evaluate evidence in order to make graded judgement against each key judgement and any provision judgements.

223. An ungraded inspection report will not be produced when the ungraded inspection is deemed to be a graded inspection. Instead, the school will receive a graded inspection report.

Part 2. Explanation of Ofsted’s key and provision judgements

224. This section of the handbook sets out how we evaluate schools on the 2 most common types of inspection: graded inspections and ungraded inspections.

225. Inspectors evaluate schools against the following key judgements:

• quality of education

• behaviour and attitudes

• personal development

• leadership and management

226. Where appropriate, inspectors also evaluate schools against the following provision judgements:

• early years provision

• sixth-form provision

227. The section on ‘evaluating the quality of education’, below, is structured differently from the sections that relate to other judgement areas, which are split into sections on graded inspections and ungraded inspections. Except where noted, the ‘evaluating the quality of education’ section applies to both graded and ungraded inspections. For graded inspections, inspectors will consider all the factors set out in all the grade descriptors. For ungraded inspections, inspectors will usually focus on specific areas (see paragraphs 305 to 310 for more information) but may consider any of the factors set out in the grade descriptors.

228. The majority of inspections that we carry out are ungraded inspections. The purpose of these is to confirm whether the school has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. They differ from graded inspections, where inspectors give grades for the key judgements and any provision judgements (as set out in part 3).

Evaluating the quality of education

The curriculum

229. A school’s curriculum sets out the aims of a programme of education. It also sets out the structure for those aims to be implemented, including the knowledge and skills to be gained at each stage. It enables the school to evaluate pupils’ knowledge and skills against those expectations.

230. All pupils in maintained mainstream and special schools are expected to study the basic curriculum, which includes the national curriculum, religious education and age-appropriate relationships and sex education. PRUs and alternative provision settings are not necessarily expected to deliver the national curriculum (see statutory guidance). The national curriculum sets out requirements for:

• English, mathematics, science, physical education and computing in key stages 1 to 4

• art and design, design and technology, geography, history and music in key stages 1 to 3

• languages in key stages 2 and 3

• citizenship in key stages 3 and 4

231. Since September 2020, schools have also been required to teach:

• relationships education (key stages 1 and 2)

• relationships and sex education (key stage 3 and 4)

• health education (key stages 1 to 4)

232. Academies are expected to offer all pupils a broad curriculum that should be similar in breadth and ambition to the national curriculum, and must include English, mathematics, science and religious education.

233. All schools that include early years provision must comply with the DfE’s statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (EYFS).

234. In key stage 1, pupils should be able to read, write and use mathematical knowledge, ideas and operations so that they are able to access a broad and balanced curriculum at key stage 2. Some schools are exempt from the learning and development requirements of the EYFS. Where this is the case, the expectation is that pupils are able to read and write fluently by Years 5 and 6.

235. In key stages 2 and 3, schools need to provide a broad, rich curriculum. Our research into the curriculum shows that these stages are particularly susceptible to a narrow curriculum, and that this has a disproportionately negative effect on disadvantaged pupils (including those with SEND). If a school has shortened key stage 3, inspectors will look for evidence that the school has made provision to ensure that pupils still have the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects, commensurate with the national curriculum, in Years 7 to 9.

236. In the key stage 4 curriculum, the government’s national ambition is that 90% of Year 10 pupils in state-funded mainstream schools should be starting to study EBacc GCSE courses nationally by 2025 (taking their examinations in 2027). This is an ambition, and not a target for any individual school. Inspectors will not make a judgement about the quality of education based solely or primarily on the school’s progress towards the EBacc ambition. Nevertheless, it is an important factor in understanding a school’s level of ambition for its pupils. It is, therefore, important that inspectors understand what schools are doing to prepare for this, and they should take those preparations into consideration when evaluating the intent of the school’s curriculum.

237. All schools are also required to promote the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society; and prepare pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

238. If remote education is in place, schools should ensure that it is well integrated within their course(s) of study, and is well designed to support the wider implementation of the school’s curriculum.

239. The DfE has set out a minimum expectation of at least 32.5 hours for the length of the school week in (non-statutory) guidance in mainstream state-funded schools by 1 September 2024 at the latest. Where it is clear that increasing the overall time pupils spend in school (to at least 32.5 hours per week) would improve the quality of education, inspectors will reflect this in their evaluation of the school, and in the inspection report. If a school is not meeting the minimum expectation, and this impacts on the quality of education, inspectors will expect schools to set out a clear rationale for this and understand what impact it has on the quality of education. They will also want to understand what plans are in place to meet the minimum expectation.

Ofsted’s approach to evaluating the curriculum

240. Inspectors will consider the knowledge and skills that pupils will gain at each stage through the school’s curriculum (we call this ‘intent’). They will look at the scope of the curriculum, including how carefully the leaders (including trust leaders) responsible for the curriculum in the school have thought about what end points the curriculum is building towards (with reference to the national curriculum and, where relevant, the EYFS). They will also look at how the leaders (including trust leaders) responsible for the curriculum have broken down the content into components and sequenced that content in a logical progression, systematically and explicitly, for all pupils to acquire the intended knowledge and skills. Inspectors will also consider the rigour of subject-specific planning.

241. Inspectors will consider how the curriculum developed or adopted by the school is taught and assessed in order to support pupils to build their knowledge and to apply that knowledge as skills (we call this ‘implementation’). This includes how well the subject curriculum is presented to ensure that pupils understand key concepts, and that they can transfer key knowledge to long-term memory and apply it fluently. This includes the use of assessment to check pupils’ understanding of what the curriculum intent says they should know, and to identify and correct misunderstandings and inform teaching. It also includes whether teachers either have expert knowledge of the subjects that they teach, or are supported to address gaps in their knowledge so that pupils are not disadvantaged by ineffective teaching.

242. Finally, inspectors will consider the outcomes that pupils achieve as a result of the education they have received (we call this the ‘impact’). This will include their view of how pupils are progressing through the curriculum, and their view on schemes of work or other long-term planning (in whatever form they are normally used).

243. Inspectors will focus on what our inspection experience and research show are the most important factors to consider. These are the extent to which the school’s curriculum:

• is ambitious and designed to give pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils (including pupils with SEND) the knowledge they need to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in later life

• is planned and sequenced so that the end points that it is building towards are clear and that pupils develop the knowledge and skills, building on what has been taught before, to be able to reach those end points

• has rigour, where relevant, so that pupils learn the knowledge that they need to answer subject-specific questions and to gain disciplinary knowledge of how the subject works (this should not prevent a topic-based or thematic approach, however)

• accounts for delays and gaps in learning that have arisen and continue to arise as a result of the pandemic

• remains as broad as possible for as long as possible, including when delivered remotely. The school does not offer disadvantaged pupils (including pupils with SEND) a reduced curriculum

And the extent to which teachers:

• have expert knowledge of the subjects that they teach and are supported, where necessary, to address gaps in their knowledge so that pupils are not disadvantaged by ineffective teaching

• present information clearly, promote appropriate discussion, check pupils’ understanding systematically, and identify misunderstandings and adapt teaching as necessary to correct these

• deliver the subject curriculum in a way that allows pupils to transfer key knowledge to long-term memory. Teaching is sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before and pupils can work towards clearly defined end points

• use assessment to check pupils’ understanding to inform teaching, and to help pupils embed key concepts, use knowledge fluently and develop their understanding, and not simply memorise disconnected facts

• consider the most important knowledge or concepts that pupils need to know and focus on these, and prioritise feedback, retrieval practice and assessment

• ensure that remote education, if needed, enables all pupils to access lessons and learn, and monitor pupils’ engagement and communicate with parents and colleagues effectively if there are concerns

And the extent to which all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils (including those with SEND):

• acquire the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life

• make progress, in that they know more, remember more and are able to do more. They are learning what is intended in the curriculum

• produce work of high quality

• achieve well in national tests and examinations, where relevant

• are being prepared for their next stage of education, training or employment at each stage of their learning, including whether pupils in sixth form are ready for the next stage and are going on to appropriate, high-quality destinations

• are able to read to an age-appropriate level and fluency (if not, they will be incapable of accessing the rest of the curriculum, and they will fall rapidly behind their peers)

244. In evaluating the quality of education, inspectors will form a top-level view of the curriculum through conversations with the leaders (including trust leaders) responsible for curriculum in the school. They will use the official IDSR as a starting point, but will want to see the quality of education as experienced by pupils first hand and understand how well leaders know what it is like to be a pupil at the school. On graded inspections, inspectors’ understanding of the school’s curriculum is primarily formed through deep dives. We will look at the curriculum in all the key stages that the school has, through our deep dives. Inspectors will use 2022 outcomes cautiously (including any measures that use this data as a basis) and will only use 2021/22 data to inform discussions with the schools about pupils’ outcomes. No schools will be marked down on the basis of the 2021/22 data alone. Inspectors will use the data for 2022/23, and all future data, as set out at the start of this paragraph.

245. On graded inspections, the number of deep dives will vary depending on the size of the school and the inspection team:

• in primary schools (and infant, junior and lower-middle schools), inspectors will always carry out a deep dive in reading and deep dives in one or more foundation subjects. In addition, inspectors will often carry out a deep dive in mathematics

• in secondary schools, the deep dives will typically focus on a sample of 4 to 6 subjects, looking at a wide variety of pupils in different year groups across that sample

• for maintained nursery schools and specialist settings, see the ‘provision-specific considerations’ section

246. Deep dives gather evidence of the curriculum within a certain subject, to build an understanding of the curriculum in the school as a whole. They encompass a range of activities, including:

• talking about the curriculum with leaders

• joint visits to lessons

• work scrutiny

• talking to and observing pupils in addition to joint visits to lessons

• discussions with teachers

247. Inspectors may not always carry out all of these activities on a deep dive. On ungraded inspections, inspectors will carry out some of the activities, but will do so more flexibly to reflect the focus of these inspections (see paragraph 309). More detail on these activities can be found in the sections below.

248. Inspectors will not grade intent, implementation and impact separately and will not grade individual lessons or teachers. Instead, inspectors will reach a single graded judgement for the quality of education, drawing on all the evidence they have gathered and using their professional judgement. In making that judgement, inspectors will always evaluate the extent to which the school’s education provision meets different pupils’ needs, including pupils with SEND.

249. Inspectors recognise that there may still be some limited circumstances in which a pupil may need to learn remotely. Where this is the case, this learning will not be evaluated separately but as part of the wider curriculum. Similarly, where the school is directly deploying tutors to support education recovery from the pandemic, inspectors will consider how this supports the aims of the school curriculum, rather than evaluate the quality of the tutoring. Use of tutors will be integrated into the evaluation of both the quality of education and leadership and management and will not be inspected separately.

250. Inspectors will not look at non-statutory internal progress and attainment data on inspections of schools. That does not mean that schools cannot use data if they consider it appropriate. Inspectors will, however, put more focus on the curriculum and less on schools’ generation, analysis and interpretation of data. Teachers have told us that they believe this will help us play our part in reducing unnecessary workload. Inspectors will be interested in the conclusions drawn and actions taken from any internal assessment information, but they will not examine or verify that information first hand. Inspectors will use published national performance data as a starting point on inspection, where it is available.

251. Inspectors will be alert to unnecessary or excessive attempts to simply prompt pupils to learn glossaries or long lists of disconnected facts. Learning can be defined as an alteration in long-term memory. If nothing has altered in long-term memory, nothing has been learned. However, pupils learn by connecting new knowledge with existing knowledge. Pupils also need to develop fluency and unconsciously apply their knowledge as skills. This must not be reduced to, or confused with, simply memorising disconnected facts. When inspectors evaluate the impact of the education provided by the school, their focus will primarily be on what pupils have learned.

252. We will judge schools taking radically different approaches to the curriculum fairly. We recognise the importance of schools’ and trusts’ autonomy to choose their own curriculum approaches. If leaders are able to show that they have thought carefully, that they have built a curriculum with appropriate coverage, content, structure and sequencing, and that it has been implemented effectively, and that the curriculum does not leave some pupils behind, then inspectors will assess the school’s curriculum favourably.

253. Inspectors will recognise that some schools are going through a period of change, including when they have been brokered into a trust or rebrokered from one trust to another. In some schools, the quality of education may have been poor and may now be showing significant and sustained improvement. In these situations, nationally generated performance data may lag behind the current quality of education in the school and so inspectors will view the national data in this context.

254. Inspectors will also bear in mind that developing and embedding an effective curriculum takes time, and that the school may only be part-way through the process of adopting or redeveloping a curriculum. If leaders have an accurate, evaluative understanding of current curriculum practice in their school and have identified appropriate next steps (taking into account any impact of COVID-19) to improve curriculum quality and develop curriculum expertise across the school, inspectors will evaluate ‘intent’ favourably when reaching the holistic quality of education judgement. They will recognise that the grade criteria for a judgement of good for quality of education are best fit. Where inspectors consider available national data, they will be mindful of the age of this data, especially around statutory assessment and qualifications, when making judgements. Teacher-assessed grades from 2020 and 2021 will not be used to assess curriculum impact.

255. As part of making the judgement about the quality of education, inspectors will consider the extent to which schools are equipping pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. Our understanding of ‘knowledge and cultural capital’ is derived from the following wording in the national curriculum:

256. National assessments and examinations are useful indicators of pupils’ outcomes, but they only represent a sample of what pupils have learned. Inspectors will consider any outcomes data, where this is available in published national data (this does not include teacher- or centre-assessed grades from 2020 and 2021), but it does not constitute a substitute for inspectors’ first-hand inspection activities.

Talking about the curriculum with leaders

257. A professional dialogue with leaders is vital to our understanding of the curriculum. Inspectors understand that different schools will approach their curriculum differently – especially smaller schools – and will work within that context in each school.

258. In an academy, this will also include talking to relevant trust leaders about any role they have in the curriculum. This does not mean that Ofsted expects the trust to make curriculum decisions, necessarily. However, where trusts have made decisions that affect the implementation and impact of the curriculum within an individual academy (including a decision to allow schools to make all curricular decisions), inspectors will want to understand how and why that decision was made, and the impact on pupils.

259. Inspectors will want leaders to set out the scope of what they intend pupils to learn. This will include:

• the extent to which there are clear end points

• whether subject content is broken down into appropriately sized steps and sequenced to build towards those end points

• the rigour of subject-specific planning, where appropriate

260. We define rigour as ensuring that the curriculum keeps to subject-specific questions, methods, conventions, rules and practices and how the subject discipline builds new knowledge. This should not prevent a topic-based or thematic approach, however. Inspectors will also want to understand the approach to teaching and assessing whether pupils have understood the content they have been taught.

Joint visits to lessons

261. Inspectors will not take a random sample of lessons to visit. Instead, they will connect lesson visits to other evidence, such as discussions with curriculum leaders, teachers and pupils, and work scrutiny.

262. Inspectors will discuss with school leaders which lessons they will visit (for graded inspections this will be part of the deep dives) to see the curriculum in action. Where possible, inspectors will visit several lessons from the same curriculum area or subject, including from different year groups. They will invite the headteacher, subject leaders and/or other leaders to take part in joint visits to lessons.

263. Lesson visits are not about evaluating individual teachers or their teaching. Teaching will not be graded. Inspectors will connect evidence from lesson visits with what they learn from other activities, to form a rounded view of the quality of education.

264. Lesson visits are also useful for gathering evidence that contributes to the ‘behaviour and attitudes’ judgement by providing direct evidence about how behaviour is managed within individual classrooms and how pupils respond. This evidence will complement the other evidence that inspectors gather about behaviour during inspection.

Work scrutiny

265. Inspectors will look at pupils’ work. Work scrutiny will help inspectors to form a view of whether pupils know more and can do more, and whether the knowledge and skills they have learned are well sequenced and have developed incrementally.

Talking to and observing pupils in addition to joint visits to lessons

266. Inspectors will speak to pupils (and groups of pupils), including about the subjects they have been looking at. On graded inspections, this will be included in deep dives. On all inspections, inspectors will want to understand what pupils have learned and how their teachers help them to learn new curriculum content. Inspectors will take advantage of opportunities to gather evidence from a wide range of pupils, both formally and informally. Evidence from pupils will always be considered alongside the other evidence that inspectors collect.

267. Inspectors will also talk to and observe pupils in a range of situations outside of normal lessons to evaluate personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and safeguarding for example:

• at the start and finish of the school day

• during lunchtime, including in the dining hall, and breaktimes or playtimes

• during assemblies and tutor periods

• when moving between lessons

• during enrichment activities (including clubs and activities outside of the normal timetabled curriculum)

268. During informal conversations with pupils, inspectors will ask them about their experiences of teaching, learning and behaviour in the school, including the prevention of bullying and how the school deals with any form of harassment and violence, discrimination and prejudiced behaviour, if they happen. Inspectors will ensure that all questions are appropriate.

269. During the inspection, it is important that pupils are able to express their views freely to inspectors. Therefore, inspectors must have the opportunity to speak to pupils with no other adults present, unless there are exceptional circumstances. This is particularly important when inspectors ask pupils questions about safeguarding. Inspectors will, where relevant and practical, also try to ensure that they speak to at least some single-sex pupil groups to provide the opportunity for pupils to speak more freely about issues such as sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence. See ‘Inspectors talking to pupils on inspection’.

Discussions with staff

270. At the heart of our inspections is a professional dialogue between inspectors and the leaders, governors/trustees and staff of the school.

271. Usually, inspectors will discuss with staff:

• how the training and support that they receive helps them to deliver the content effectively

• their workload, including whether assessment practices create any unnecessary burdens

• other matters, including those related to safeguarding and pupils’ behaviour

• on graded inspections, how the school’s curriculum informs their choices about content and sequencing to support pupils’ learning

272. On all inspections, staff may be accompanied by another appropriate person when speaking to inspectors. However, it is important that staff are able to express their views freely to inspectors.

Early stages of learning to read

273. During all inspections, inspectors will be interested in how the school supports pupils who are at the early stages of learning to read, including older pupils. This is especially the case because of the disruption to learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evaluating early reading on graded inspections

274. On graded inspections of infant, junior, primary and lower-middle schools, inspectors will carry out a deep dive to evaluate how well pupils are taught to read. They will pay particular attention to the pupils who most need to improve their reading (the lowest 20%) to assess how well the school is teaching phonics and supporting all children to become confident, fluent readers. This will include understanding how reading is taught remotely, where applicable.

275. As part of this, inspectors will listen to several low-attaining pupils in Years 1 to 3 read from unseen books that are appropriate to their stage of progress. They should also draw on information from the school’s policy for teaching reading, phonics assessments, phonics screening check results and lesson visits.

276. Wherever possible, inspectors will listen to children read to a familiar adult in a classroom or in an open area that the pupils are familiar with. They will take into consideration the length of time a pupil has attended the school.

277. When evaluating early reading against the ‘quality of education’ judgement, inspectors will consider whether:

• the school is determined that every pupil will learn to read, regardless of their background, needs or abilities. All pupils, including the weakest readers, make sufficient progress to meet or exceed age-related expectations

• stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction are chosen for reading to develop pupils’ vocabulary, language comprehension and love of reading. Pupils are familiar with and enjoy listening to a wide range of stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction

• the school’s phonics programme matches or exceeds the expectations of the national curriculum and the EYFS early learning goals. The school has clear expectations of pupils’ phonics progress term by term, particularly from Reception to Year 2

• the sequence of reading books shows a cumulative progression in phonics knowledge that is matched closely to the school’s phonics programme. Teachers give pupils sufficient practice in reading and re-reading books that match the grapheme–phoneme correspondences they know, both at school and at home

• reading, including the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics, is taught from the beginning of Reception

• the ongoing assessment of pupils’ phonics progress is sufficiently frequent and detailed to identify any pupil who is falling behind the programme’s pace. If they do fall behind, targeted support is given immediately

• the school has developed sufficient expertise in the teaching of phonics and reading

Evaluating mathematics on graded inspections

278. When inspectors look at mathematics, they will evaluate the quality of a school’s mathematics education through lesson visits, discussions with pupils and scrutiny of their work, discussions with subject leaders, and examining any published data. This will include understanding how mathematics is taught remotely, where applicable.

279. Inspectors will draw on information from the Year 4 multiplication tables check. The check provides information about the extent to which pupils recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. Inspectors will use the information as a starting point only and understand that it represents a small element of the mathematics curriculum overall.

280. Inspectors will consider what steps the school has taken to ensure that:

• pupils understand and remember the mathematical knowledge, concepts and procedures appropriate for their starting points, including knowledge of efficient algorithms. This should also ensure that pupils are ready for the next stage, whether that is the next lesson, unit of work, year or key stage, including post-16 mathematics

• the school’s curriculum planning for mathematics carefully sequences knowledge, concepts and procedures to build mathematical knowledge and skills systematically and, over time, the curriculum draws connections across different ways of looking at mathematical ideas

• the curriculum divides new material into manageable steps lesson by lesson

• the school’s curriculum identifies opportunities when mathematical reasoning and solving problems will allow pupils to make useful connections between identified mathematical ideas or to anticipate practical problems they are likely to encounter in adult life. Pupils have sufficient understanding of, and unconscious competence in, prerequisite mathematical knowledge, concepts and procedures that are necessary to succeed in the specific tasks set

• within the curriculum, there are sufficient opportunities planned to revisit previously learned knowledge, concepts an