Ofsted headline grades scrapped: What schools need to know

Headline Ofsted grades have been immediately scrapped by the new government, and new report cards are coming next year.

The watchdog will continue to judge schools based on the existing four sub-judgments, and the government will continue to intervene in the worst-performing settings.

But the so-called double ‘requires improvement’ intervention has been scrapped. Such schools will now get more “targeted support” as opposed to academisation.

It comes as Ofsted prepares to publish the outcome of its “Big Listen” consultation tomorrow, as well as research conducted among school staff and parents and a review conducted by former chief inspector Dame Christine Gilbert.

Here’s what we know so far…

1. Headline grades scrapped immediately …

Ofsted will no longer issue schools with single-phrase headline judgments for overall effectiveness. This applies to all state schools due to be inspected this academic year.

However, until new report cards take effect next September, schools will continue to be rated from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’ for the four sub-judgments.

These are…

• Quality of education
• Behaviour and attitudes
• Personal development
• Leadership and management

Schools will also continue to be judged on whether their safeguarding is effective.

2. … but it only applies to state schools (for now)…

The headline-grade change only applies to state schools.

The government has said the change ‘will follow’ for some private schools, colleges, early years and teacher training, but has not said when. (Private schools inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate have already ditched headline grades)

Also, schools that have already been inspected and received a headline grade will retain it until their next inspection.

3. …and then report cards due in September 2025

This system is a stopgap until new report cards are introduced in September 2025.

Government said the report cards will give parents a “full and comprehensive assessment of how schools are performing and ensure that inspections are more effective in driving improvement”.

But they need to come up with the plan. Content will be developed over the “coming months” and the education sector and parents will be consulted.

4. Schools will still face intervention …

Intervention will remain, and government has said “the bar for this intervention will not change”.

Ofsted will still identify those schools that previously would have been rated ‘inadequate’ and tell the government about them, but it won’t publish a headline grade for them.

Intervention will be triggered by the sub-judgment grades, which are often referred-to as limiting judgments. Under the previous system, if one is rated ‘inadequate’, the school’s overall effectiveness of a school is deemed ‘inadequate’ too.

The law also requires the education secretary Bridget Phillipson to issue maintained schools in the “causing concern” category – i.e. those requiring special measures or “significant improvement” – with an academy order.

Those that are already academies which fall into that category will be issued with a termination warning notice, meaning they may be rebrokered into a different trust.

5. … but ‘coasting’ schools will get support instead

At present, government intervention is also triggered if a school is rated ‘requires improvement’ in two or more consecutive inspections.

These schools have sometimes been described as “coasting”.

But the policy is changing. The new government is now calling them “struggling”, and instead of facing academisation or rebrokering, they will get “targeted support” from a high-performing school.

The policy will be introduced immediately, except for ‘coasting’ schools already due to convert this term.

6. Regional improvement teams from ‘early 2025’

And from “early 2025”, those schools will also get support from new regional improvement teams, which Labour pledged to set up in its manifesto.

The government says its approach means it is prioritising “rapidly getting plans in place to improve the education and experience of children, rather than relying purely on changing schools’ management”.

But there are no details on how the teams would work. This will be set out “shortly”, government said.

7. Report card intervention plan yet to be worked out

Ministers will also have to re-design their policy for intervening in schools based on the report cards, but they’re not saying more about that now.

This will instead be announced in “due course”.