Schools that receive a full inspection this year have been banned from using Ofsted judgment logos after overall effectives grades were scrapped, the inspectorate has said.
Ofsted has published its updated school inspection handbook and school monitoring inspection handbook following key changes announced in its ‘Big Listen’ consultation response.
Many of the policies had already been announced. For example, the handbooks have been updated to state that that schools will be graded against Ofsted’s four sub-judgments until next September, when report cards are due to be rolled out.
However, the new handbook fleshes out some of the details of those policies.
Here is what leaders need to know…
1. Logos banned for schools inspected this year
Previously, schools rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ were allowed to use “specific Ofsted logos” to promote that judgment, for example on their websites or banners at their gates.
Those inspected until the end of last academic year, which received overall effectiveness judgments, will continue to be able to use those logos to promote their grades.
But schools that receive a full inspection from this month onwards “may no longer use the Ofsted judgment logos as they relate only to overall effectiveness”.
Earlier this month history teacher Tom Rogers said he hoped school “brags don’t go from ‘we are outstanding’ to ‘we are OGGO in sub categories (outstanding, good, good, outstanding) or ‘we are mostly outstanding’”.
It comes after after analysis found that three in five schools rated ‘requires improvement’ last year had two or more ‘good’ or better sub-grades, suggesting some parents will see a more positive overall picture of their child’s school now that headline grades have been scrapped.
2. Clarity over monitoring inspection threshold
Ofsted has updated its monitoring inspection handbook with more clarity about which schools will be eligible.
Previously, it was inadequate schools and those rated ‘requires improvement’ twice in a row that became eligible for monitoring inspections.
Now, with headline grades gone, it will be schools in a “category of concern” such as special measures or serious weaknesses, or those rated ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ in a key judgment area in their latest inspection.
However, Ofsted has said it will not “normally” monitor schools in the latter position if their inspection before last was ‘outstanding’, ‘good’ or ‘inadequate’.
3. Changes to inspection date estimates
Last year, Ofsted published guidance aimed at helping schools work out when their next inspection would be, based on factors including their last overall graded judgment.
But with headline grades scrapped, that guidance is obsolete for schools inspected this year.
Ofsted said it would set out the expected dates for when it will next inspect these schools from September 2025.
Schools inspected this year should not expect to receive another ungraded or graded inspection before next September, but may receive an urgent or monitoring inspection, Ofsted said.
4. Bank holidays will impact Monday call pledge
In its “Big Listen” response, Ofsted said it would give leaders notice of all routine graded and ungraded inspections on a Monday, in new a approach set to be piloted over Autumn term.
It previously said this would mean inspectors would visit schools on a Tuesday and Wednesday and write reports on Thursdays.
The revamped inspection handbook states that “the call” will come after 9.30am on Mondays.
But it added that if a school was open in a week that includes a bank holiday, Ofsted “may notify the school on the Tuesday of that week”.
Ofsted said inspections could fall on a Wednesday and Thursday in those weeks.
5. ‘Suspend and return’ safeguarding policy
Ofsted is piloting a new approach to safeguarding reporting in graded inspections.
If a school is ‘good’ or better in all other areas but fails in safeguarding, and inspectors think leaders have the capacity to fix it, they can call the inspection incomplete and return within three months to complete it, withholding judgment in the meantime.
But Ofsted will only allow this if school leaders agree to send this letter to parents.
If inspectors don’t think leaders can fix safeguarding issues within three months, they will conclude the inspection as normal and judge the school to have serious weaknesses.
6. Schools causing concern…
Ofsted will now place a school in a “category of concern” following graded inspection if any “key judgment” is inadequate and/or if safeguarding is considered ineffective.
Inspectors will then decide if the school has ‘serious weakness’ or requires ‘special measures’.
Previously, schools rated ‘inadequate’ overall were deemed to be in a formal category of concern.
7… and a ‘refocus’ for ungraded inspections
Likewise, Ofsted now says ungraded inspections are a way of determining whether a school has “taken effective action to maintain the standards” identified at the previous inspection.
In the previous handbook, the focus was on whether the school remained the same overall grade as at its previous graded inspection.
8. Trusts should be on board for deferrals
Ofsted has also tweaked its policy for considering whether to defer or pause an inspection or visit, which it can do in a “limited number of circumstances”.
It now makes clear deferral requests from state-funded schools that are part of a multi-academy trusts should be made jointly between the headteacher and the trust.
“This means we will ask a headteacher making a deferral request to confirm that they have agreed this with their trust, and anyone from a trust making a request to confirm that they have agreed it with the headteacher.
“If they cannot confirm this, we will consider the request on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the context.”
9. Boarding school inspections no longer ‘aligned’
Ofsted normally carries out an “aligned inspection” if a boarding or residential special school’s graded inspection is due in the same financial year as the full inspection of its residential provision.
Aligned inspections are carried out by two separate inspection teams, education and social care, resulting in two sets of graded judgements and two separate published reports.
But Ofsted is not planning to do them this academic year, “except in exceptional circumstances”. It expects aligned inspections to resume next September.
This is because school inspection no longer has an overall judgement grade, but social care inspections of boarding provision do, an Ofsted spokesperson explained.
The settings will still get any inspection they would have got, just separately.
10. Clarity on how incomplete inspections are recorded
Ofsted has also added a new section to its guidance on deferring and pausing inspections and gathering additional evidence.
This clarifies that, following an inspection that involved a visit to gather additional evidence, reports will normally include the dates of both visits next to the names of all the inspectors.
But it added that in “exceptional circumstances, it may not be appropriate to name all inspectors or include both dates on the report. This is at the discretion of regional directors.”
