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In October 2025, ����Vlog, in collaboration with ����Vlog Magazine, hosted a free webinar with industry leaders discussing whether or not the new Ofsted reforms are fit for purpose. Before the webinar, we asked registrants to ask any burning questions they had about the new reforms and asked Cerys Turner from ����Vlog Magazine to answer some of the most common questions. You can view the video of this here. 

What is the rationale behind the latest changes? 

The new changes come after the death of headteacher, Ruth Perry, who sadly took her own life after an Ofsted inspection in 2023. Since then, Ofsted have introduced a number of reforms that aim to make inspections less top-heavy and more considerate of teacher wellbeing.  

To summarise the changes; 

Single-word effectiveness grades have been scrapped in favour of a new-style report card, rolling out from November 2025. The new-style report cards will have six different areas that Ofsted will evaluate: 

• Curriculum and teaching

• Early years 

• Achievement

• Inclusion

• Leadership and governance

• Personal development and wellbeing

• Attendance and behaviour

These areas will be evaluated across a five-point scale: 

• Exceptional  

• Strong standard  

• Expected standard  

• Needs attention  

• Urgent improvement 

Given the ‘secure fit’ approach, what are the implications for schools whose attainment levels are below national average? 

Ofsted are introducing a ‘secure fit’ approach. This means that, to receive an expected standard or strong standard grade, schools will have to meet every one of the grade descriptors. These descriptiors can be found in Ofsted’s new . 

There are concerns about what this means for attainment. In order to achieve an expected standard in attainment, the toolkits say that a school’s results will have to be broadly in line with the national average. We don’t yet know what ‘broadly in line’ means or where inspectors will draw the line, but the concern here is that some schools that don’t meet this will be marked down on attainment. 

How is Ofsted going to require schools to evidence inclusion? 

Inclusion has become one of the six main evaluation areas under the new Ofsted framework. They said that schools should have high expectations for all students, including those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, students with SEND, students who are known or previously known to children’s social care and those who may face other barriers to their learning or well-being. 

In terms of evidence towards inclusivity, Ofsted will be assessing whether schools are ensuring early and accurate assessments of students’ needs, and whether schools use this information to create a cycle of planning, action and review to reduce any existing barriers.   

However, Ofsted will not be assessing whether a school has a representative number of students from its local community from deprived backgrounds or with special educational needs. 

How do you think the new framework will work in special schools? 

Ofsted will be using the same framework, toolkit and evaluation areas for all school settings, including special schools. However, the toolkits do provide information to inspectors on how to look for evidence in special schools.  

For example, when an inspector evaluates curriculum and teaching for students with SEND, they will consider whether or not they have access to a suitable curriculum that builds on their knowledge and that is adapted to their needs. 

Ofsted have said that their inspectors will recognise that students’ work can take many forms and will also consider that some students need additional support to help them manage behaviour and/or manage their emotions. 

However, ����Vlog Magazine has spoken to some special schools who have voiced their concerns. They believe that a framework designed for mainstream schools is simply being applied to special schools.  

Some schools have higher proportions of vulnerable young people than others. How will Ofsted ensure it's a level playing field? 

This is part of the reason why Ofsted are focusing so heavily on inclusion; they want to prioritise disadvantaged and vulnerable children. In terms of a level playing field, the new toolkits are heavy on considering a school’s context, which comes up under most of the evaluation areas.  

Inspectors will be looking at whether education providers are offering high-quality support for all children, especially those that are disadvantaged, those with SEND and those who are known to social care. They will also consider a school’s use of off-site provision or any SEN provision. 

Do we know what the increased focus on Looked After Children and those involved with social care will look like? 

As part of Ofsted’s safeguarding inspection, they will check whether schools have a designated teacher for children who are looked after or were previously looked after. They will assess how qualified this designated teacher is, whether each looked after child had a personal education plan and whether the child receives high-quality support to improve their learning or wellbeing.  

Additionally, Ofsted will also be evaluating how well schools are serving the needs of children who are known (or previously known) to children’s social care as part of the inclusion evaluation area. 

Why is safeguarding getting a binary judgement and how is it going to be inspected? 

There will be a new evaluation area in the new Ofsted framework for safeguarding. It will be evaluated as either ‘met’ or ‘not met’. Ofsted said they are using this binary judgement because a school is “either doing it properly and the culture of safeguarding is embedded in everything you do, or you’re not.” 

However, in a change from the previous framework, an inspector can suspend an inspection to allow a school to resolve minor issues with safeguarding within three months, as long as that is the only issue.  

Do we know what the focus on 'Wellbeing' will look like? 

Ofsted commissioned an independent review of the impact of its new framework on school staff’s mental health, - carried out by Sinéad Mc Brearty, who leads the Education Support charity. 

Her report warned that school leader wellbeing may worsen under the new framework and recommends action from both Ofsted and the government to reduce the high-stakes pressure associated with inspections. 

How will the inspection process work for tiny schools? (Under 50 pupils) 

Ofsted have said that they will train inspectors how to adapt to an inspection or apply the toolkit to different types of provision, including smaller schools. That being said, the toolkits currently published only makes a few references to smaller schools. 

For example, it says that Inspectors will recognise that leaders may share curriculum resources across schools and may adapt their curriculum differently for mixed classes. 

The toolkits also says that when inspectors evaluate achievement in small schools, they will consider that results data for small cohorts is likely to fluctuate. Plus, they will also bear in mind that staff in smaller schools might have multiple responsibilities. 

What is the rationale for some of the combined categories? 

Originally, Ofsted were going to move ahead with a plan to inspect schools across eight areas using the same five-point scale. However, after concerns were raised about the complexity of this proposed system, Ofsted reduced the number of categories down to six by combining some of them.  

They combined curriculum and teaching, which previously sat together under the last Ofsted framework, as well as grouping attendance and behaviour together, in line with DfE policy. 

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