Ofsted inspections are a really important part of your child’s education. At some point during your child’s education, the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) will pay a visit. After this, your child’s school will be rated and a report will be made publicly available.

School staff will be interviewed by the inspectors.

School data is scrutinised and verified.

What is Ofsted?

Ofsted is an independent regulatory body, reporting directly to the British government. Ofsted inspections are carried out by a team of inspectors, who will measure the effectiveness of your child’s school. Schools are given one of four ratings:

• Outstanding

• Good

• Requires improvement

• Inadequate

The ‘outstanding’ rating is given to only around 3% of schools.

What happens when Ofsted carry out an inspection? 

Your child’s headteacher will be informed by telephone the afternoon before the inspection begins. The lead inspector will speak to the headteacher to gauge some initial details about the school.

Inspections normally last two days. The team of inspectors will interview the school management team and teachers. They will also speak to students and staff. Crucially, they will observe lessons.

School data will be scrutinised and verified.

Inspectors sometimes ask to speak to parents. More usually, parent views are gleaned from Parent View.

Parent View allows you to let Ofsted know more about your experience with your child’s school. You will be able to complete an online survey which asks questions about behaviour, SEND, communication and more. Parents read statements such as ‘My child feels safe at this school’ and choose an answer from ‘strongly agree’, ‘agree’, ‘disagree’, ‘strongly disagree’ or ‘don’t know’. People as a rule are more likely to give feedback if they have had a negative experience (just look at Trip Advisor), so don’t neglect to fill in the survey if you are happy with your child’s school as too many negative comments will skew the inspection findings. Read more about Parent View here.

How will an Ofsted inspection affect my child?

It’s important to remember that Ofsted are not there to inspect your child or to assess his/ her performance in school. The inspectors are there to check the school’s ability to provide appropriate support and learning. Inspectors may observe lessons and they may approach your child to ask a couple of questions about their experience in school. They may also ask to see your child’s work.

After the Inspection

Ofsted’s inspectors will  give feedback to teachers, staff and SLT feedback before making their final judgement. It normally takes a few weeks to publish the formal report.

What happens if my child’s school is rated inadequate?

If this happens, your child’s school will fall into one of two categories.

• Special Measures
   This means that the school is rated inadequate and is 1. failing to provide adequate education for its students whilst 2. showing grounds for improvement.

• Serious Weakness
  The school is rated inadequate but only fails on one of the above judgements that would make it eligible for Special Measures.

In each of the above cases, the school will be subjected to greater scrutiny and more frequent visits by Ofsted until standards are raised to an acceptable level.

The Final Report

Schools must inform parents about Ofsted’s rating and the final inspection report will be made available to you. If you have any concerns about Ofsted’s inspection, raise them first with your child’s headteacher and then with Ofsted.