Ofsted Inspects Education and School Accountability Consultations

Introduction

Based on the consultation video and the consultation documents for Ofsted Inspects Education and Schools Accountability Reforms, we have created key questions across the two consultations to gather your views.

The questions are designed to capture your overall views and will help shape our submission, ensuring your perspectives are also accurately represented in our consultation submissions and at any relevant meetings.

While we recommend reading the guidance before answering, this survey is designed to allow you to respond without needing to review the full document.


Link to Ofsted Consultation is here:

Link to School accountability reform is here:

You are not required to answer all the questions and you can also email us your views on any or all parts of the consultations.

Closing Date 21st April 2025
1.By completing this survey, you confirm that you:

  • Understand that your individual responses will remain confidential and will only be used to inform the NNPCF’s evidence on the subject matter.
  • Agree that your anonymised feedback may be included in broader insights shared on the NNPCF website.
  • Acknowledge that your participation is voluntary, and you may choose to stop completing the survey at any time. However, once views have been collated anonymously, it may be difficult to withdraw your feedback.
(Required.)
2.
What are your views on the proposed new report cards?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
The information is displayed clearly
The report card covers all the information I need
The report card is easy to follow
3.What are your views on the proposed 5-point scale from 'causing concern' to 'exemplary' reporting criteria?
4.What are your views on the definition of Exemplary?

Exemplary (highest quality provision) – a provider where all
evaluation areas are graded as at least secure and, within an evaluation
area that is consistently strong, there is a feature of practice that could
be considered as exemplary
5.The Report Cards are proposed to include additional information, what are your views on the following?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Additional information about a school such a size, age range and type of schools is important.
Additional information about how well pupils learn is important.
6.Effective School Accountability - Ofsted propose to deliver improvements based on the following principals for school accountability.

What are your views on the those principals?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Effective School Accountability should - drive high and rising standards, supporting all children and young people to achieve and thrive
Effective School Accountability should - provide assurance to parents, giving them clear, transparent and reliable information to inform choices – recognising the breadth of what a school does across a range of criteria, including achievement and attendance
Effective School Accountability should - give school leaders, staff and responsible bodies granular insights with sufficient detail about the quality of different elements to help all schools move forward towards excellence
Effective School Accountability should - encourage collaboration through the system – so that providers work together for the benefit of all children, young people and learners, drawing on excellence and identifying areas for improvement – creating a truly self-improving system
Effective School Accountability should - be delivered consistently, transparently and to the highest professional standards, with arrangements that are fair and credible – recognising limitations in data, taking appropriate account of context while maintaining high expectations for all children and young people, and only holding schools to account for those things they can control
Effective School Accountability should - be proportionate, taking account of the impact on workload and the wellbeing of leaders, teachers and staff
Effective School Accountability should - be coherent with clear and distinct roles and responsibilities for different actors in the system
Effective School Accountability should - have an emphasis on identifying those providers in need of additional help so that tailored and proportionate intervention can be provided at the right time, including taking action to change the organisation that governs a school where it is necessary to bring about improvement
7.What are your views on School Profiles?

Ofsted are proposing a single accessible place - a ‘one-stop shop’ - where parents and professionals can go to see the broad range of information about a school.

This would include the Ofsted report card, up-to-date performance information and a range of other helpful information.

The Department is responsible for the collection and presentation of this school performance data and is therefore well placed to further extend the information available to parents and professionals through a single product.

This will be the “school profile”.
8.When a school is judged to be special measures or requires improvement, what are your views on Ofsted's proposed interventions?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Proposed Intervention - a school judged by Ofsted to require special measures will continue by default to receive structural intervention. A maintained school will become an academy, and an existing academy will be transferred to a new trust
Proposed Intervention - in the short term, while RISE (Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence) teams focus on stuck schools and build capacity, a school judged to require significant improvement will also continue by default to receive structural intervention. From September 2026, we propose a different approach whereby the school will receive mandatory targeted intervention from a RISE team. Ofsted will monitor regularly, and inspect the school after 18 months. Structural intervention will then be the default if the necessary improvements have not been made
Proposed Intervention - schools that have consistently underperformed over time (stuck schools) and have not had a change of structure since their last inspection, will receive mandatory targeted intervention from a RISE (Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence) team. Structural intervention will be the default if the necessary improvement is not made within two years
9.Whilst the consultation are ongoing, on a new system for September 2026.
What are your views on the following?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
That any school now judged as requiring improvement should be involved in a Structural Intervention?
That any school now judged as requiring improvement should received targeted RISE (Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence) support, before Structural Intervention?
10.'Stuck' Schools - defined as a school that was graded requires improvement – or equivalent - at its most recent Ofsted inspection and was also graded below good at its previous inspection.

There are also currently over 600 schools, educating over 300,000 children that are considered to be 'Stuck' Schools.

What are your views on the following?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Ofsted propose to update our definition of stuck schools as ‘schools which receive an attention needed rating against leadership and governance, which were graded below good – or equivalent - at their previous Ofsted inspection’.
Ofsted inspections are periodic, and some schools cannot wait until their next inspection to begin to receive help. Therefore, Ofsted propose that RISE (Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence) teams also engage with schools, via their responsible bodies, where there are concerning levels of pupil attainment, including large year-on-year declines.
Where a stuck school, supported through RISE (Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence), has not achieved new secure ratings, in all areas within two years, the default will be to move to structural intervention. Where a maintained school will become an academy, and an existing academy will be transferred to a new trust.
11.Any other thoughts or views that you'd like to share?
12.Please let us know which Department of Education region you are from?