Ofsted | Schools Week

Pandemic, what pandemic? Heads worry Ofsted is failing to take Covid into account

Leaders fear missed opportunity to forge a positive relationship

Starmer to pledge Ofsted ‘reform’ and thousands more teachers

Labour leader to commit to new ‘national excellence programme’ in conference speech

Ofsted to visit more MATs when evaluations restart

Watchdog says smaller and specialist trusts will now face visits

Schools ‘prioritised’ food parcels over remote learning, and 4 other things we learned from Ofsted

Schools’ focus on making food parcels and visiting disadvantaged pupils in the first lockdown may have affected their “capacity” to provide remote education, Amanda Spielman has said. The Ofsted chief inspector appeared at an event held by the Institute for Government (IfG) think tank this morning, where she was quizzed on how schools would tackle […]

Ofsted expansion hangs in spending review balance

Questions over pledge from 2019 to extend inspections

Standalone trust could be stripped of school over ‘culture’ of sexism

An academy trust could be stripped of its only school after Ofsted found a “pervading culture” of sexist and other discrimination had created a “hostile environment”. Colchester Royal Grammar School is awaiting its fate after receiving a termination warning notice, following Ofsted’s “inadequate” judgement and warning some pupils felt “unsafe” in July. The inspectorate visited […]

Ofsted to review tutoring and teachers’ professional development reforms

Watchdog tasked by government with reviewing two key catch-up policies

Harford: ‘Longer Ofsted inspections could reduce anxiety for schools’

In his final interview as Ofsted’s national director of education, Sean Harford talks to Schools Week about the future of inspections, his proudest moments and plans for the future. After 18 years, six chief inspectors and countless hours of commuting, Sean Harford has retired from Ofsted. He had intended to remain in post as national […]

Ofsted: Councils won’t get heads-up on ‘inadequate’ judgements

Ofsted will no longer notify local authorities of provisional inadequate judgements of their maintained schools and academies. But the decision has been met with opposition from the Local Government Association (LGA), which warns schools need immediate support. The schools watchdog released updated guidance for schools and early education today. Ofsted provides early notification of provisional […]