End of term review: Changes to Ofsted inspections

The nights are drawing in, the decorations are going up and education staff in schools and colleges all over the country are (finally) starting to think about the upcoming holidays.

But before we start to pack our bags, we felt this would be a useful moment to reflect on some of the major education changes actioned, announced and consulted on over the autumn term.

In this first blog, we turn our attention to Ofsted - the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills – which introduced a number of changes to its inspection process in September.

These widely reported adjustments aim to address longstanding concerns about the inspection process, many of which were reported in Ofsted’s own ‘Big Listen’ consultation. The new framework hopes to create a more holistic approach to evaluating education institutions.

And while reform is welcomed, we would also like to see a strong, continued emphasis on the mental wellbeing of students, staff and the wider school and college community within the process.

Our support for schools and colleges

At Anna Freud, we want all schools and colleges to be mentally healthy. We support education staff to embed a whole-school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing that prioritises a culture of connectedness and belonging.

Research shows that promoting the wellbeing of young people within schools and colleges can improve their educational outcomes. In a mentally healthy setting, the whole school or college community - including parents and carers - works in partnership to support students’ wellbeing.

Integral to this approach is ensuring that trusted relationships are built and maintained, the voices of young people are heard and integrated into policy, and the mental health and wellbeing of staff is prioritised.

Through our training, resources, and direct clinical support, Anna Freud provides schools and colleges with tools to create an environment where staff, students, parents and carers feel included, respected and valued.

Learn more by signing up to our free Schools in Mind network.

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Changes at Ofsted

There has been significant scrutiny of Ofsted’s inspection process since the death of Headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. There were longstanding concerns that the inspection process neglected the importance of relationships and culture and could often have a negative impact on the mental wellbeing of staff and the wider community.

Respondents to the ‘Big Listen’ consultation described fear and anxiety around receiving a notification call and the pressure to perform well during inspection. For many, this led to higher levels of staff burnout, stress and poor morale.

The recent changes to inspections see some positive steps in the right direction, with a renewed emphasis on the mental health and wellbeing of students and staff. Some of these changes have been introduced with immediate effect including:

• Change to single word grading judgements: Ranking a school as ‘outstanding’ or ‘inadequate’ doesn’t give a nuanced or full picture of how effective they are. However, this is yet to be implemented for colleges.

• Notification of inspection: In an attempt to reduce stress and anxiety related to waiting for an inspection, schools will always be notified of an inspection on a Monday of the same week. This helps to alleviate the pressure and potential negative impact on wellbeing that was caused by waiting for most of the week for a phone call.

• The pausing of inspection where safeguarding is a concern: In these situations, judgements will be withheld with a revisit in three months, allowing time for school leaders time to deal with issues, prior to DfE intervention.

• Mental health training has been made part of the regular training for inspectors.

What's next?

We’re yet to see the impact of the changes being implemented by Ofsted, or how school communities adapt to them. There will need to be an ongoing assessment and review of the impact of the changes, as well as further consultation with staff, parents, carers, students and organisations within the relevant sectors.

January 2025 will see a further consultation on the new inspection framework and the introduction of report card system. The report card system aims to give a more comprehensive assessment of school effectiveness. A pilot of the new inspections will be in place in the summer term.

There is scope for a more significant overhaul of the process to directly support school leaders to embed a truly mentally healthy environment. This could include more explicit consideration of the wellbeing, ethos and culture of a setting - putting it on an equal footing to academic attainment. Prioritising mental health in education is not just beneficial - it’s essential.

Our view

The recent changes to the Ofsted framework represent a significant step forward in prioritising student and staff mental health and wellbeing. By emphasising the importance of a balanced curriculum and supportive leadership, these updates hold the potential to create healthier school environments.

As Ofsted continues to evolve its inspection framework, we hope that the emphasis on mental health and wellbeing will grow. This should include considering the impact of inspection on all education staff. By staying engaged with these changes and advocating for a holistic approach to mental health, we can help ensure that schools are not just places of learning, but also nurturing environments that support every student to thrive academically and personally.

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Check in next week for part two of our end-of-term review as we look at how we inputted into the Government’s recently closed – and much welcomed – curriculum review.