Ofsted believe that small schools are a valuable part of our education system.
They believe that pupils who attend them have unique experiences and that leaders who lead them have lots of opportunities, but also face many challenges. In their latest blog, Ofsted set out how they take these factors into consideration when they inspect small schools and how they adapt what they do.
From a national point of view there are currently just under 4,000 schools in England with fewer than 150 pupils, referred to as ‘small’.
If you would like to understand how Ofsted inspect small schools have a look at their webinar on this topic.
14-05-2026