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by Jess Gibson

Ofsted has launched a consultation on a new approach to inspecting education providers and the introduction of report cards. 

The consultation will see Ofsted gather the views of parents, carers, professionals and learners on a new approach to inspections and reporting on education providers, including early years settings. 

Proposals for a new inspection model include: 

• Introducing a ‘report card’ system, 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 five-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. 

• Placing more emphasis on providers’ circumstances and local context. 

Ofsted has also launched new toolkits to tailor inspections to the phase and type of provider. 

These proposals follow on from the result of The Big Listen consultation in 2024, which gathered feedback from both families and education professionals. The results showed that most felt the overall effectiveness grade should go and that inspection reports should provide a more nuanced view of an education provider’s strengths and areas for improvement.   

A 2023 Alliance provider survey found that around eight in ten (79%) nurseries, pre-schools and childminders were stressed about Ofsted inspections “fairly” or “very often”, while almost half of respondents (45%) had had a negative Ofsted experience. Around a fifth (21%) said they had filed a formal complaint, and more than half (52%) said the inspection judgements they received were unfair. The vast majority of the sector (77%) supported the removal of the single-word Ofsted grading, with almost three in five (58%) ‘strongly’ supporting this.  

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: "Given that our own research found that Ofsted inspections are the single biggest source of stress among early years providers, it's clear that the need to ensure that inspections are collaborative and constructive, rather than a source of anxiety, has never been greater.   

"And with the vast majority of settings in favour of the removal of single-word judgements, it is undoubtedly positive that Ofsted is pushing ahead with its plans to remove headline judgements and considering how it can best ensure that parents receive a holistic overview of a setting’s provision.  

"That said, while these proposals may be an improvement on the old system, we are yet to be convinced that the move to a five-point scale, even across multiple areas of provision, is the transformative change that many in the sector were hoping for.  

"What's more, we're clear that any reform of the inspection system must include further steps to ensure a much greater consistency of approach among inspectors - meaning that a setting’s inspection outcome does not depend on the particular inspector they happen to get on the day.    

"As such, it is absolutely vital that today’s consultation marks a genuine opportunity for providers to have their voices heard. This means that, should the sector be opposed to today’s proposals, the inspectorate must be prepared to rethink its plans, rather than charge ahead regardless, and work with the education sector to develop an approach to inspection that truly does work for everyone."