Two related consultations: School Accountability Reform and Improving the Way Ofsted Inspects Education
Date: 5 Feb 2025
Please take some time to respond to these consultations and share them with parents and carers.
Plans unveiled by the Education Secretary earlier this week aim to provide a stronger, faster system, spearheaded by an initial £20 million investment in new regional improvement teams, known as RISE teams which will prioritise "stuck" schools. They will draw up bespoke improvement plans with those schools, with government making up to £100,000 available initially to each school for specialist support. This compares to a £6,000 grant that was available previously for similar schools.
The government will continue to use structural intervention - converting to an academy, or moving to a new, strong trust - where Ofsted identifies the most serious concern or does not identify rapid improvement. It has also proposed closer monitoring of schools with the most serious problems to track progress.
The government expects the number of schools that receive mandatory intervention – including structural and from RISE teams - to be around double than before, securing swift improvement for children and driving high and rising standards.
The consultation information is available on the following link: School accountability reform - GOV.UK
The consultation document PDF can be downloaded here.
Running alongside this, DfE is consulting on proposals for a new inspection model include:
- Introducing the Ofsted report card, giving parents detailed information about standards across more areas of practice in their child’s school, early years, or further education provider.
- Replacing the ‘single word judgement’ with a new 5-point grading scale for each evaluation area, including a new top ‘exemplary’ grade to help raise standards.
- Returning to schools with identified weaknesses, to check timely action is being taken to raise standards.
- Increasing focus on support for disadvantaged and vulnerable children and learners , including those with SEND.
- More emphasis on providers’ circumstances and local context.
- New toolkits to tailor inspections to the phase and type of provider.
The consultation questions can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-way-ofsted-inspects-education/improving-the-way-ofsted-inspects-education-consultation-document
Both consultations will run until 28 April 2025.
