You can ask our solicitors for advice on ofsted using the question box on the front of our website or the following article may answer your questions.

The Office for Standards in Education commonly known as OFSTED is an agency operated by the government and accountable to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools. This organisation is responsible for both inspecting and reporting on Local Education Authorities throughout the country in addition to schools overseen by the LEA. Not all schools are. 

It will not only inspect schools but sixth form colleges, education provided for young people between the age of 16 and 19 years, teacher training establishments and childcare providers who specialise in early years.

This remit also stretches to childminders. Independent schools are also inspected by OFSTED but only when a concern has been raised or they are applying for registration.

School Inspections

OFSTED will carry out school inspections on a periodic basis to assess the quality of teaching and standards of education for students. An inspection is usually carried out every six years. A school that is considered to be performing well should only face a short inspection. Other schools require a full inspection covering all national curriculum subject areas and other aspects of the school.

Inspection teams will provide highly detailed reports on the school including the quality of work, educational standards that are being achieved, if there are sufficient financial resources available to enrich learning and whether they are being managed correctly. The inspection will also explore how well spiritual, moral, cultural and social requirements of students are being addressed.

Ofsted Inspection procedure

Prior to the inspection being carried out the school will be required to hold a meeting with the inspector and parents of the children who attend the school. This is so that the parents can provide their opinions of the school and provide information on the good and bad points of the school. The school governors, head teacher or staff cannot participate in the meeting unless they have a student at the school.

Parents are sometimes provided with a questionnaire and the results will be incorporated into the final report prepared by at the end of the inspection.

Once the inspection has taken place the inspector will meet with the governors to discuss the findings of the inspection. Within the following six weeks the inspector will be required to send a full written report and summary to the Local Education Authority, the governing body and OFSTED. A copy of the summary must also be issued to parents.

The report may outline a series of issues some will be good while others perhaps not so good. The school governors have a period of 40 days in which to draft a report detailing the actions they will take to address the actions that need addressing which were raised in the report. Copies of this action plan then need to be submitted to OFSTED, the LEA, staff at the school and parents.

Sometimes an inspection may conclude that there are serious failings in a school or the current standards are cause for concern.

In this situation the inspector has three options:

• Placing the school in special measures which can in the worst case result in closure of the school
• Highlighting that the school has serious weaknesses and giving them a timescale (usually one year) to make improvements
• Identify the school as an underachieving school

The governors at these schools will have to prepare detailed proposals on how they will make improvements. Furthermore they must be provided with the right support from the Local Education Authority and be closely monitored.

When parents hear that their child’s school is performing badly perhaps through the OFSTED summary they may express concern. If they wish they may request a full copy of the OFSTED report. The most important section within this report is the set of recommendations. You may also request a copy of the OFSTED framework document and handbook which provides information on how the inspectors oversee school quality.

Also check the action plan supplied by the governors and if you are still concerned you can request that the governors hold a meeting to discuss the findings of the school inspection.

The role of OFSTED is to ensure that students of all ages receive a good quality education and that teaching staff are suitably trained and skilled to teach. Ultimately the inspection is about maintaining consistently high educational standards and promptly taking appropriate action to help transform struggling schools.