New Ofsted Framework: Frequently asked questions

Why has Ofsted introduced a new framework?

Ofsted has introduced a new inspection framework, set out in the Education Inspection Framework 2025, to change how schools are inspected. The aim is to:

help improve standards for all children

give parents and carers clearer, more detailed information about the school their child attends

be fairer to teachers and school staff

What are the main changes to the Ofsted reports?

There are two key changes to how Ofsted reports on school performance:

New language and no single overall grade: Ofsted describes a school’s performance differently and no longer gives one overall judgement.
New report cards: Reports use colour coding to help you understand performance quickly and easily.

The new grades don’t directly match the old ones, but Ofsted has emphasised that the ‘Expected standard’ is a high standard, and schools achieving this are providing children with the education, care and support they deserve.

What are the new grades?

Schools will no longer be graded as ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, or ‘Requires Improvement’. Instead, they will be assessed using the following grades:

Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement

These new grades are designed to give a clearer picture of school performance and support better understanding for parents, carers, and school staff.

Do the grades have definitions?

Yes, here are the grades and their definitions:

Exceptional (highest quality provision): an evaluation area can be graded ‘exceptional’ when all the strong standards have been met and if it meets all the additional standards in the ‘exceptional’ section of the toolkit.

Strong standard: an evaluation area can be graded ‘strong standard’ when all the expected standards and all the strong standards have been met.

Expected standard: an evaluation area can be graded ‘expected standard’ when all the standards are met – this includes meeting the legal requirements and the expectations set out in statutory guidance, as well as the professional standards required of the particular type of provision, where these apply.

Needs attention: an evaluation area can be graded ‘needs attention’ when the ‘expected standard’ has not been met because some aspects of provision are inconsistent, limited in scope or impact and/or not fully meeting the legal requirements.

Urgent improvement (lowest quality provision): an evaluation area can be graded ‘urgent improvement’ when it needs urgent action to provide a suitable standard of education and/or care for children and learners.

Here is a graphic explanation:

Should I be worried if my child’s school receives ‘Needs attention’? Is it the same as the old rating of ‘Requires improvement’?

No – ‘Needs attention’ is not the same as ‘Requires improvement’. Think of it as an early warning indicator for areas where some work might need to be done to prevent issues in the future.

It means that the ‘Expected standard’ hasn’t been met in all elements of the evaluation area, and that there are aspects that could be demonstrated more consistently and with greater impact. Ofsted is clear that ‘Needs attention’ isn’t failure, but a signal that there is work the school can be doing to meet the ‘Expected standard’.

How does Ofsted check if children are safe at school?

Ofsted always looks closely at safeguarding – keeping children safe is a top priority in every inspection.

If a school meets safeguarding standards, it has effective systems, policies, training and reporting procedures to protect children.
If a school does not meet safeguarding standards, Ofsted will report this clearly, and the school must take immediate action.

Even if a school receives ‘Needs attention’ in other areas, parents and carers can be reassured that safeguarding is always assessed in its own right.

I don’t have time to read the whole report. Is there a helpful summary?

Yes, we think the most useful summary is the ‘What it’s like to be a pupil at this school’ section. This reflects pupils’ day-to-day experiences, while the report card and grade summaries show the school’s performance in each evaluation area.

Where can I find out more about the new approach to Ofsted inspections?

Ofsted has created a video about the changes. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/kbl0FvY976g?si=Nuo4NrOUJ1rvQGto