Ofsted scraps single headline grades

It has been announced that from 2 September 2024 single headline Ofsted judgments will be scrapped. For inspections from 2 September 2024 onwards, schools will continue to be judged across the existing categories of “quality of education”, “behaviour and attitudes”, “personal development”, and leadership and management. Whilst Ofsted will continue to publish a separate grade in each of these areas, it will no longer publish one single overall grade.

The change has been introduced following years of debate as to whether the quality of teaching at a school can adequately be summarised in one word. This debate intensified following the inquest into the tragic death of Ruth Perry, a headteacher whose school was set to be graded ‘Inadequate’.

Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary, has said, “Single headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools. Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing – that’s what our report cards will provide.”

From parents’ perspective concerns remain as to whether the necessary level of transparency, and the clarity which was previously provided by an overall single grade, can be achieved moving forward. It is also not yet clear how School Report Cards, which are planned to be introduced from September 2025, will differ from the information which is currently contained in Ofsted reports.

Intervention

Schools which are not performing well will continue to receive intervention. Where schools are identified as struggling, the government has stated that it will prioritise planning rapidly to improve the education and experience of pupils, rather than relying on changes to the schools’ management.

Currently, where a school receives two or more consecutive judgements of ‘requires improvement’ under the ‘2RI’ policy, the government will intervene. However, moving forward the government will now put in place support for these schools from a high-performing school. This change does not impact those schools which are already due to convert to academies in the Autumn 2024/25 term.

Further changes in the future

Alongside the removal of single word grading, the government has announced further changes to be introduced in the future. From early 2025, Regional Improvement Teams will be introduced to support struggling schools to address areas of weakness.

In addition, from September 2025, there are plans to introduce School Report Cards, providing a full assessment of school performance. As highlighted above, it is not yet clear how the Report Cards would differ from the information currently provided to parents in Ofsted reports.

Practical steps for schools

Whilst moving away from single word grades for schools is a change, the practical impact for schools is likely to be fairly limited in the short term. Schools should continue to prepare for inspections as usual. When there is an upcoming inspection, having a plan setting out steps for the school to take to prepare for the inspection can alleviate some of the burden.

Safeguarding must, of course, remain a key priority for schools. Ensure that your school’s safeguarding policy is regularly reviewed and has been updated to take into account the recent changes brought in by Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024. Frequent practical training will ensure that staff have a working knowledge of safeguarding obligations on the ground.

Ofsted may also review other statutory policies, such as exclusions. It is therefore important to regularly review and update policies and make the current version available to demonstrate compliance with the most up-to-date requirements. Schools should also make sure that they are conducting external governance reviews in accordance with the requirements set out in the Academies Trust Handbook.

Regularly updating governors on school developments will help them to prepare for inspection. This includes updating governors throughout the year in respect of strengths and areas for improvement, changes since the last inspection, and self-evaluation and the school’s development plan.

School leaders should also familiarise themselves with Ofsted’s school inspection handbook and particularly the evidence sought by the inspector in respect of each judgement.