Ofsted has confirmed routine inspections under its new ‘report card’ framework will be beginning at state schools on December 1.
Routine inspections have been paused this term while Ofsted launches its reformed inspection framework, meaning none have taken place since July.
Ofsted’s new framework was launched last Monday (November 10), but has initially been rolled out to schools that have volunteered for inspection.
The watchdog previously said routine inspections at state schools “will be introduced on or after December 1, depending on the number of schools that volunteer”.
It today confirmed it will be returning to routine inspections on December 1, meaning schools could get the call in as little as 11 days’ time.
There will then be a pause on routine inspections during the week before Christmas – the week commencing December 15 – to allow for inspector training, before inspections resume in the new year.
Under the reformed inspection system, schools are judged using a five-grade system across a minimum of six inspection areas.
Leaders have warned the plans will make the system more complicated and burdensome for schools, not less. A wellbeing impact report commissioned by the watchdog warned the new report cards will create more anxiety for leaders with already “concerningly high” stress levels.
But speaking at the Schools and Academies Show in Birmingham yesterday, chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said inspections “should feel energising” to leaders.
“I want you to feel comfortable and motivated by the changes,” he said. “Not anxious, but energised by a system that accounts for the complexity and richness of what happens in your schools every single day.
“This is truly a bold, defining change that fundamentally reshapes how we think about schools, and hopefully, how you all think about yourselves.”
Your thoughts