Ofsted release figures on inspections

Since Ofsted resumed its inspections this autumn their first job was to inspect schools who had previously been exempt due to attaining an ‘outstanding’ judgement. This comes after MPs voted to remove the exemption from inspection for ‘outstanding’ schools and colleges and Ofsted were able to start their inspections back in October 2020. Due to the pandemic the timetable was put back with most of the inspections having now begun this term.

The majority of ‘outstanding’ schools inspected in the beginning of this academic year have been downgraded. One third have retained their outstanding with two-thirds downgraded. Whilst the majority have dropped one grade to ‘good’, there are five schools who have been judged ‘requires improvement’.  

Chris Russell, Ofsted’s national director of education, said ‘outstanding’ is a:

“challenging and exacting judgment to achieve. That doesn’t mean that the school has declined in recent years, in fact the opposite can be the case, so very important, I think, in those circumstances, to read the inspection report really carefully.”

From initial reports, SEND is a large part of Ofsted’s discussions with schools and nasen are pleased to see it put high on the agenda. Outstanding pedagogy for SEND pupils likely reflects outstanding pedagogy for all.