Single-word Ofsted judgments for state schools will be scrapped with immediate effect to be replaced by report cards aimed at improving standards and helping parents to better understand schools’ strengths and weaknesses.
The four headline ratings currently awarded by the inspections watchdog in England – outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate – will go as part of radical changes announced on Monday by the government.
In their place, state schools inspected this year will be graded on quality of education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. Independent schools, early years settings, colleges and children’s social care providers will follow.
Education unions and the teaching profession welcomed the changes to the school inspection system, first promised by Labour before the election following the suicide of the primary headteacher Ruth Perry.
They pave the way for the introduction of school report cards from September 2025, which – after consultation – will provide parents with a comprehensive assessment of how schools are performing, ensuring that inspections are more effective in driving improvement.
The government will continue to intervene in poorly performing schools to ensure high standards for children, the Department for Education said, amid some concerns that the changes could result in less oversight.
Where schools are identified as struggling, there will be direct intervention, rather than a reliance on management changes alone. From early 2025, new regional improvement teams will work with institutions to address areas of weakness.
In the most serious cases – schools that would have been graded inadequate by Ofsted under the existing system – the government will continue to issue academy orders, which in some cases would mean new management.
However, it will no longer directly intervene in schools which under the current system receive two or more consecutive “requires improvement” judgments. They will now get more support from a high-performing school instead.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said: “The need for Ofsted reform to drive high and rising standards for all our children in every school is overwhelmingly clear. The removal of headline grades is a generational reform and a landmark moment for children, parents, and teachers.
“Single-headline grades are low-information for parents and high-stakes for schools. Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing – that’s what our report cards will provide.
“This government will make inspection a more powerful, more transparent tool for driving school improvement.”
Perry, who was the headteacher of Caversham primary in Reading, killed herself in January 2023 after her school was downgraded from the highest ranking, outstanding, to the lowest, inadequate, after a visit by school inspectors.
The coroner ruled her suicide was contributed to by an Ofsted inspection, after an inquest heard testimony from colleagues and medical professionals about the mental distress she suffered during and after the inspection.
Julia Waters, Perry’s sister, welcomed the reforms, which were rejected in April by the last Conservative government. In a statement on behalf of the family, she said: “We are delighted and relieved that the government has decided to take this important and long overdue step.
“Single-word headline judgments are dangerous and reductive. They are unpopular with parents and teachers, and their simplistic impact has made the daily job of improving school standards harder for everyone except the bureaucrats.
“The shame, injustice, and high-stakes consequences of an ‘inadequate’ judgment, together with the rude and intimidating conduct of the inspection itself, were the cause of my sister’s mental deterioration and suicide.”
She added: “Single-word judgments are just the most visible feature of a fundamentally flawed inspection system. Ofsted’s reign of terror has caused untold harm to headteachers and school staff for too long, with a negative impact on children’s education.”
The children’s commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, described the changes as a “significant step forward” in rebuilding trust between Ofsted and the teaching profession.
“Removing one-word judgments will start giving headteachers and school leaders confidence that inspections more transparently and fairly reflect the complex realities of school life,” she said.
Education unions also backed the reforms. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “We have been clear that simplistic one-word judgments are harmful, and we are pleased the government has taken swift action to remove them.
“School leaders recognise the need for accountability, but it must be proportionate and fair, and so we are pleased to see a stronger focus on support for schools instead of heavy-handed intervention.”
NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “The new government has made the right decisions to immediately abandon the system of single-word inspection grades. We have seen the destructive consequences of that system, which did nothing to support the work of schools and was of little or no value to parents.
“Inspection and accountability should have an important role to play in supporting the delivery of world-class education. It has been abundantly clear that the high-stakes system developed under the previous government was damaging, distracting and unfairly penalised schools for the failures of the system.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, added: “Single-headline grades are damaging and counterproductive, and we are delighted that they are being removed from school inspections with immediate effect.
“The school report card system that will be introduced from September 2025 has the potential to provide parents with a more rounded picture of their school’s performance. The big challenge now is to make sure that we get this right and that we don’t end up replacing one flawed system with another flawed system.
“It is also imperative that schools which are identified as struggling are able to access effective practical support in a timely manner.”
However, the Tories criticised the changes. Damian Hinds, the shadow education secretary, said: “Ofsted already inspects the quality of schools against four key areas and gives an accompanying narrative, but the headline inspection outcome is a vital indicator for parents.
“The last Conservative government made important changes to inspections and welcomed Ofsted’s ‘Big Listen’ to further evolve inspection practice, so it could continue its vital work in driving up school standards.
“While we do believe the system could be further improved, scrapping the headline inspection outcome is not in the best interest of pupils or parents.”
