More schools are keeping their “outstanding” grade in Ofsted judgements, data published today shows.
The figures follow recent criticism by former Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw that the number of top grades being handed out to schools is “nonsense”.
Schools rated “outstanding” were previously exempt from routine Ofsted inspections until a rule change in 2020.
One-fifth (20 per cent) of the 578 “outstanding” schools given graded inspections in 2022-23 retained their top grade, up from 17 per cent the year before, Ofsted said today.
Of those inspected in 2022-23, 13 per cent were downgraded to the bottom two ratings of “requires improvement” or “inadequate”, compared with 22 per cent in 2021-22.
The data published today also shows that 89 per cent of all schools are now rated as “good” or “outstanding”, a small increase from 88 per cent in August 2022.
The findings cover inspections completed between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023 and published by 30 September 2023.
Responding to the report, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The fact that 89 per cent of schools are judged by inspectors to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ is testament to the incredible hard work - and sleepless nights - of the education workforce.”
“It is even more of an achievement”, Mr Barton added, “considering the intense financial pressures and staff shortages faced by schools and colleges as a result of the government’s neglect of the education system.”
Ofsted: findings from 2022-23 inspections
Here are the five main findings from Ofsted’s 2022-23 inspections and outcomes:
‘Substantial’ increase in inspections
Ofsted carried out 7,239 inspections last year - its highest number in the past five years.
The increase was partly due to more funding from the Department for Education “to catch up on the inspections that were missed during the Covid-19 pandemic” and “to inspect all schools at least once between April 2021 and August 2025”, the watchdog’s report states.
Ofsted paused inspections for a period during the pandemic.
Inspections this past year included 3,722 graded inspections, 3,259 ungraded inspections and 258 monitoring or urgent inspections.
Fewer schools judged ‘outstanding’
Some 89 per cent of schools that had a graded or an ungraded inspection were judged to be “good” or “outstanding” in 2022-23.
Three-quarters (75 per cent) of schools previously judged as “requires improvement” improved to “good” or “outstanding”.
More formerly “good” schools also improved to “outstanding” (6 per cent compared with 4 per cent in 2021-22).
However, the overall proportion of schools with a top grade has decreased slightly after routine inspections for “outstanding” schools resumed in 2020 - from 19 per cent in August 2021 to 16 per cent currently.
There has been an increase in the proportion of schools judged “good”, with this figure increasing from 67 per cent in 2021 to 73 per cent currently.
Primary schools still trump secondaries on behaviour judgements
Primary schools often receive higher Ofsted grades for all key judgements, the report notes. This was a trend that continued into 2022-23.
Ofsted says that the biggest difference between primary and secondary judgements is “behaviour and attitudes”, with 93 per cent of primary schools rated as “good” or “outstanding” in this category, compared with 76 per cent of secondary schools.
‘Only six’ schools judged inadequate for safeguarding alone
The report highlights that “only six state-funded schools that had a graded inspection had ineffective safeguarding but no other significant issues”.
One of these schools was Caversham Primary School in Berkshire. Its headteacher, Ruth Perry, took her own life after Ofsted downgraded her school to “inadequate”, her family said.
Ofsted’s report says that “where a school is not getting safeguarding right, there are very likely to be other significant weaknesses in the school”.
The other 58 schools judged to have ineffective safeguarding in 2022-23 would “most likely have been judged ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ even if there had not been issues with safeguarding”, according to Ofsted.
School leaders told Ofsted earlier this month that they are often working in “isolation” to safeguard vulnerable children, after inspectors looked into multi-agency arrangements to support and protect children.
