Schools that receive a graded inspection from this month will not be allowed to display judgements using Ofsted logos.
Graded Ofsted inspections this academic year will resume from 23 September and ungraded inspections from 7 October.
A scorecard inspection report system is expected to be introduced from next September, as announced by the government earlier this month along with the scrapping of overall grades.
Schools visited in the interim may not use Ofsted judgement logos under an update to the school inspection handbook published this week. This is because they relate “only to overall effectiveness, which is no longer part of our judgements”, the handbook states.
However, schools judged to be “outstanding” or “good” for overall effectiveness before September 2024 can still use specific Ofsted logos to promote that judgement, such as on websites.
Ofsted will still award grades for the four current sub-judgements - including on leadership and management and quality of education - but from this month it will no longer give out overall effectiveness grades.
These changes have been introduced following a major overhaul of the inspection system this month in response to concerns raised in Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation.
Here are four other key updates announced by Ofsted today:
Clarity over ‘category of concern’
Ofsted has clarified when a school will be put in a “category of concern”.
Following a graded inspection, if any key judgement is “inadequate” and/or safeguarding is ineffective, Ofsted will place the school in a formal “category of concern”.
Inspectors will then decide whether the school has serious weaknesses or requires special measures, and consider whether school and/or trust leaders and governors/trustees are showing the capacity to improve the school.
‘Inadequate’ in key judgement areas may prompt follow-up
Before the changes to Ofsted’s grades, schools with a headline “inadequate” grade, or two subsequent “requires improvement” grades, would receive monitoring inspections.
Now, schools in a “category of concern”, or those rated “inadequate” or “requires improvement” in a key judgement area, may get monitoring visits.
However, this would not “normally” apply if the school was previously rated as “outstanding”, “good” or “inadequate” overall.
Bank holidays could mean a Tuesday call
As previously announced in its response to the Big Listen, Ofsted will contact a school after 9:30am on Monday morning to inform it of an incoming inspection.
If there is a bank holiday, the watchdog may notify the school on the Tuesday of that week instead.
However, schools may be notified of an urgent or monitoring inspection on any day.
‘Suspend and return’ policy established
In its response to the Big Listen earlier this month, Ofsted pledged to change its approach for when a school receives an “ineffective” grade on safeguarding.
Previously, a school would be graded “inadequate” overall if safeguarding was deemed to be ineffective.
Concerns were raised over this process after headteacher Ruth Perry took her own life following an Ofsted inspection that downgraded her school from “outstanding” to “inadequate” based on safeguarding concerns.
Ofsted has now set out a new “suspend and return” policy, enabling inspectors to suspend an inspection to allow a school to resolve issues with safeguarding.
However, this policy only applies when safeguarding is the only issue identified at the school, and if the inspector believes leaders can resolve the safeguarding issues within three months.
Opportunity to discuss ‘reflections’ with inspectors
During inspection planning conversations, the lead inspector invites the headteacher and at least one other member of staff to observe inspection team meetings at the end of each day.
Attendance at the meeting is optional and the headteacher can leave at any point, the inspection handbook sets out.
The lead inspector may also discuss with leaders their reflections on what they have heard.
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