An Ofsted inspection involves inspectors visiting the school to evaluate the quality of safeguarding, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, attainment and early years provision. During the visit, inspectors speak with pupils and staff, observe lessons, review work in books, look at policies and data, and seek views from parents. Their findings are then used to produce a report card that outlines the school’s strengths and areas for development, providing families and the wider community with an independent view of the school’s overall effectiveness.

All state-maintained schools in England are inspected by Ofsted. This includes local authority-run schools, academies and free schools. Ofsted also inspect those independent schools that are not associated with one of the independent schools inspectorates.

Under the new framework, most inspection cycles will be set to four years, with new schools typically inspected within three years of opening. Furthermore, starting in April 2026, early years settings will also move to a four-year inspection interval.

Normally, schools get half a day’s notice of a full inspection, but Ofsted has the power to go into schools without any notice if it considers it necessary. This could be if they have received concerns about a school, possibly from a parent.

Usually, inspections last for two days. The number of inspectors varies depending on the size and type of a school, but the team will be led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) who will be joined by contracted Ofsted inspectors – normally practising headteachers and deputy heads.

Before the inspection, the inspectors gather information about the school by reading the previous Ofsted report, reports of any interim monitoring, any complaints that have been raised about the school, academic data, information about funding, and information from the school’s website. They also send a letter to parents inviting them to share their opinions about the school on Ofsted’s Parent View website.

During the inspection, inspectors will observe lessons, check records and gather a range of evidence to inform their judgements, including speaking to staff, governors, pupils and parents and scrutinising pupils’ work. Through these activities, Ofsted are able to build a clear picture of what life is like at the school and how well pupils are learning.

The main focus is on teaching and learning; inspectors will sit in on lessons, look through children’s books and folder and talk to them about not just their understanding, but also how engaged they are in their learning.

Ofsted inspectors look at the following main areas: safeguarding, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, attainment and early years provision. From this, inspectors will put together a report card, which will include a section on what it is like to be a pupil at this school.

Most schools get a draft copy of the report within 25 days after the inspection. This is an opportunity for them to check it for factual accuracy and make any comments before it’s published.

The final report is then sent to the school once any revisions have been made. It will then be published ont the Ofsted website.

Each area will be graded as the following standards:

• Exceptions
• Strong
• Expected
• Needs Attention
• Urgent Improvement

More information can be found here.

Parent View is an online questionnaire that allows parents and carers to give their views about their child’s school, at any time to Ofsted.

If you’d like to Ofsted know what you think of our academy go to:

parentview.ofsted.gov.uk

If you have an urgent problem, please let us know straight away. You can tell your child’s class teacher, the main office or call.