School performance and inspection

Find out what inspectors look for and how schools are graded.

Schools in England are inspected and graded by Ofsted, in Northern Ireland by the Education & Training Inspectorate and in Wales by Estyn. We explain what inspectors look for, how schools are graded and what the grades mean. 

Ofsted inspections 

Ofsted stands for the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills and while it reports to the Department for Education, it is politically neutral.

The inspection

Schools are normally inspected for two days. Inspectors are present within the school and within selected classes during a​‘normal’ school day. 

They will:

  • Observe lessons
  • Scrutinise pupils’ work
  • Listen to pupils read
  • Look at examples of pupils’ work for evidence of progress in knowledge, understanding and skills
  • Talk to pupils about their work to gain their views of life at the school (often outside of classroom setting)

Inspectors will evaluate evidence of the impact of the curriculum, including on the most disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). This involves in-depth discussions with school leaders, and they remain in regular contact with the head teacher throughout the inspection.

Inspectors will also assess the school’s performance through discussions with pupils and staff, governors or trustees and parents. Your school should notify you of the inspection dates and provide you with details about how you can offer your views. 

Schools get very little notice of inspections, usually finding out the afternoon before the inspection begins. They take place all year round, the exception being the very first week of a new academic year. 

The gradings

Schools are graded on their:

● Overall effectiveness (Outstanding/​Good/​Requires Improvement/​Inadequate)

● Quality of education

● Behaviour and attitudes

● Personal development

● Leadership and management

And then categorised depending on the results into Grade 1 (outstanding), Grade 2 (good), Grade 3 (requires improvement), Grade 4 (inadequate).

●​‘Outstanding’ schools are exempt from routine inspections except when concerns arise, although they are subject to regular risk assessments

●​‘Good’ schools will receive a further two-day inspection approximately every four years to confirm the quality of education. Any significant changes may trigger a more in-depth inspection

● Schools Requiring Improvement’ will be monitored by inspectors with inspections every 30 months or so, until it’s grading improves. If its grading goes down, the school will be placed into special measure

●​‘Inadequate’ schools will fall into one of two categories, of which the first is the greater cause for concern:

  1. Special measures – the school is judged to be failing to provide its pupils with an acceptable standard of education, and is not showing the capacity to make the improvements needed.
  2. Serious weaknesses – one or more of the key areas of the school’s performance require significant improvement, but leaders and managers have demonstrated the capacity to improve.

The school may be issued with an academy order by the Secretary of State for Education, requiring it to become a sponsored academy. If the school is already an academy, inspectors return more frequently to ensure that progress has been made and once a new rating is given, the school is removed from the categories above.

Ofsted will re-inspect an academy that has been found to have serious weaknesses or been placed in special measures within 30 months of its last standard two-day inspection.

Ofsted reports 

The headteacher will be given a confidential indication of the likely outcome of the inspection at the end of day two. A full written report is sent within twenty-five working days and the school has a short window of opportunity to comment on the report before it is published. The final report will be published on Ofsted’s website within 30 working days. Schools should ensure every parent with a child on the register receives a copy of the report within five working days of the school receiving it.

Additional feedback 

You can give feedback to Ofsted at any time via Parent View, a survey of basic set questions, the results of which are collated into a three-monthly report and published online. 

Estyn inspections 

Estyn inspect education and training in Wales. It is independent of the Welsh Parliament but funded by the Welsh Government. As well as inspecting, Estyn advise and guide the Welsh Government on quality and standards of education and training. 

The Estyn Approach

Estyn has a new approach to inspection in schools and Pupil Referral Units across Wales. Inspections will involve more in-person discussions, placing less emphasis on achievement data and inspection reports will no longer include summative gradings (e.g.​‘Excellent’,​‘Good’ or​‘Adequate’) but detail how well providers are helping a child to learn. There is no change to the statutory categories of special measures and significant improvement.

The five inspection areas will remain:

  • Wellbeing and attitudes to learning
  • Teaching and learning experiences
  • Care, support and guidance
  • Leadership and management
  • Inspection report

A key overview of findings will be included in the report headline focussing on a school’s strengths and areas for development and there will be a separate report summary for parents to allow them to access the key information they need about an inspection quickly.

The latest Estyn school reports can be found here.

ETI inspections 

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) is a unitary’ inspectorate and part of the Department of Education (DE), providing independent inspection services and policy advice for DE.

Types of inspection

The ETI aims to visit schools (outside the full inspection or follow-up process) approximately every three years either through a Sustaining Improvement Inspection (SII) or Monitoring Inspection (MIn). This is in addition to the visits undertaken by district inspectors.

Sustaining Improvement Inspections (SII) are aimed at schools which have been previously identified as having the capacity to identify and bring about improvement. To maintain their SII status, schools can expect an SII inspection three years after their last inspection. The notice period for an SII is 48 hours.

Monitoring Inspections (MIn) allow ETI to focus its available resources where they will have the most effective impact. Schools not having a full inspection, follow-up inspection or SII will have a MIn that will determine the type and timescale of the next inspection activity. The notice period for a MIn is 48 hours.

Full Inspections take place over four days for post-primary, youth centres, Education Other Than At School (EOTAS), and special schools and over two, three or four days for primary schools. The school will have a pre-inspection visit conducted by a reporting inspector. The notice period for a Full Inspection is two weeks. There are no changes to the follow-up inspection process.

Follow-up processes

For schools evaluated as having either a high level of capacity for sustained improvement or the capacity to identify and bring about improvement in the interest of all learners, there will typically be an SII around three years after the original inspection.

For other schools, the ETI will engage in a formal follow-up inspection process. For schools evaluated as needing to address important areas for improvement, this will take place within 12 to 18 months; the follow-up will take place within a two-year time frame for those schools evaluated as needing to address urgently significant areas for improvement.