Ofsted announce changes to the way they inspect schools

Ofsted has announced measures aimed at reducing the toll of inspection on schools.

• Faster re-inspections for safeguarding failures: From now on, schools graded ‘inadequate’ overall due to ineffective safeguarding, but where all other judgments were ‘good’ or better, will be revisited within three months of their report’s publication. Ofsted have said that if a school is able to resolve safeguarding concerns in that time, it is likely to see its overall grade improve
• Academy orders can be revoked: The concern that ‘inadequate’ Ofsted ratings trigger academisation or rebrokerage to another trust, even if they are later overturned was addressed. If a school is judged to have successfully dealt with safeguarding concerns during its monitoring visit, a new inspection report and grade will be issued. While an academy order will be issued after the first inspection as usual, the government has committed that no action will actually be taken on it until the re-inspection. The education secretary will then decide whether to revoke any academy order issued to the school, or withdraw any warning notice issued to an existing academy
• Greater clarity on effective safeguarding: The inspection handbook will be updated from September to provide greater clarity about the threshold for effective versus ineffective safeguarding
• Consultation to overhaul complaints process: Ofsted has launched a formal consultation on significant changes to the way it handles complaints about inspections.
• Schools advised which year they’ll be inspected: Ofsted will give schools more information about the broad timing of their next inspection. Schools will still get one day’s notice, but they will be given more clarity on which year they might expect a visit
• Heads told they can share draft report findings: Ofsted will make it clear that it is entirely for a headteacher to decide who to share their report with, as long as they are aware that outcomes are provisional until the report is finalised
• Critical reports will be ‘de-personalised’: Ofsted wish to de-personalise language used in inspection reports, amid concerns about the burden placed on individual leaders. From September, when discussing areas of weakness, inspection reports will refer to ‘the school’ by default, rather than individuals. The contextual information at the end of reports will also be amended to list all those with responsibility for the school.

As part of the announcement, the Department for Education (DfE) has expanded provision offered through the government-funded teacher wellbeing charity Education Support. Its helpline offers emotional support to staff through qualified counsellors.