Ofsted

Our latest OFSTED report: 

OFSTED report 2023

Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. They inspect and regulate services that care for children and young people, and services providing education and skills for learners of all ages.

Every week, they carry out hundreds of inspections and regulatory visits throughout England and publish the results online. They help providers that are not yet of good standard to improve, monitor their progress and share best practice.

Their goal is to achieve excellence in education and skills for learners of all ages, and in the care of children and young people.

Ofsted report directly to Parliament and are independent and impartial.

Ofsted are responsible for:

• inspecting maintained schools and academies, some independent schools, and many other educational institutions and programmes outside of higher education
• inspecting childcare, adoption and fostering agencies and initial teacher training
• publishing reports of their findings so they can be used to improve the overall quality of education and training
• regulating a range of early years and children’s social care services, making sure they’re suitable for children and potentially vulnerable young people
• reporting to policymakers on the effectiveness of these services

Ofsted’s priorities are to:

• put in place a strategic plan to continue to raise standards and improve lives
• use their new education inspection arrangements to ensure short inspections of good schools and further education providers are consistent, efficient and effective
• use more good and outstanding sector professionals as part of inspection teams
• review inspection for early years and social care
• develop and implement their workforce strategy
• focus inspection on services that are less than good or whose performance has slipped
• focus on the performance of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable
• identify and promote exceptional leadership in each of their inspection areas
• identify and report on issues of concern in the sectors they inspect
• promote the improvement of technical, vocational and further education
• work with parents and carers, learners and employers to ensure their views inform inspections and they use and value Ofsted’s inspection reports
• work with policy makers and influencers to ensure they understand the work of Ofsted and are able to promote it
• work with those they inspect to ensure they find their inspection and regulatory work fair and credible and it helps them to improve