Ofsted | Schools Week

Schools face new checks to ensure pupil premium spending ‘backed by evidence’

Schools will have to show their pupil premium spending is “backed by evidence” under new requirements announced by the Department for Education. The DfE confirmed schools face new conditions attached to the £2.5bn expected in funding to support disadvantaged pupils for the next academic year. Grants now depend on pupil premium spending strategies being published […]

Ofsted plans ‘lighter-touch’ on-site inspections during summer term

Ofsted will undertake “lighter-touch” on-site inspections during the summer term before returning to full graded inspections next year, it has announced. The watchdog confirmed today that it would not resume a full programme of graded inspections until September, but its summer inspections could still result in a change of grade for schools. “Following extensive discussion […]

Ofsted announces return of area SEND inspections

Ofsted will begin revisiting areas where “significant concerns about SEND provision” have been identified from next month, ahead of a return to full inspections of local areas from June. Area SEND inspections have been paused since March 2020 due the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. However the inspections, which are carried out jointly by Ofsted […]

Fact check: Is Ofsted more likely to praise poorer schools’ leaders?

Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector, caused a stir last week after claiming that lower grades for schools in deprived areas was offset by praise for leaders. Spielman said that Ofsted recognised the “relative strength” of schools in poorer areas by rating their leadership more highly – after admitting schools in more affluent areas were awarded […]

Ofsted pilot to look at whether framework ‘tweaks’ are needed ahead of full inspections

Ofsted will conduct “full” on-site inspections at about 25 schools over the next fortnight to assess whether its framework needs to be tweaked ahead of a return to graded inspections in September. Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector, revealed this week that full inspections would not return until the new academic year. The watchdog will instead […]

Ofsted monitoring inspections find all schools taking ‘effective action’, but verdict ‘limited’

The first batch of letters published following new remote Ofsted monitoring inspections found that all schools were “taking effective action” to educate pupils during the pandemic. But the watchdog admits within each of the 41 reports released so far that they provide only “a more limited level of assurance” than usual monitoring inspections. The admission […]

Spielman says deprived schools’ lower grades offset by leadership praise

Amanda Spielman has claimed Ofsted recognises the ‘relative strength’ of schools in poorer areas by rating their leadership more highly – after admitting schools in more affluent areas are awarded better grades. The chief inspector said Ofsted has looked at the judgment profiles for schools with various levels of disadvantaged intakes, finding that overall judgments […]

Ofsted monitoring inspections paused for week of schools’ return

Ofsted will pause its remote monitoring inspections for the week beginning March 8 to allow schools to focus on wider reopening. The watchdog has been carrying out remote monitoring visits since January in place of routine in-person inspections, which have been suspended during the pandemic. But the inspectorate has updated its guidance this afternoon to […]

Safeguarding failures exposed at free school where staff had ‘too many responsibilities’

Vulnerable children were put at serious risk because stretched staff had “too many responsibilities” to carry out safeguarding duties, Ofsted found, at a school where the head had resigned over “indefensible” funding cuts. Inspectors discovered “serious failings in safeguarding arrangements” at Northampton International Academy (NIA), part of the East Midlands Academy Trust (EMAT). Ofsted visited […]