Change is coming and the first signs of this are evident with this latest release from the DfE and Sir Martyn Oliver. Consultation through the ‘Big Listen’ had over 15,000 responses. This includes over 4,000 from teachers and leaders, nearly 3,000 from parents, and most importantly, over 3,000 responses from children.

So, what will ungraded inspections look like now? And how do we know this approach will work?

Before the visit:

From the Autumn term 2024 ungraded inspections will begin. The day before the on-site inspection begins, the lead inspector will have an extended phone conversation. This phone call is about working out what will be required during the on-site inspection and the evidence needed. The school’s context will be discussed as well as key indicators from the IDSR, school’s website and previous inspection report. Headteachers are actively encouraged to have other members of the senior team with the during this call who can contribute to the conversation.

Through this conversation, the lead inspector will agree with the headteacher several areas of focus for the inspection. These will take account of things that the inspector wants to look at and things that are particularly important to the school – for example something the school has been working on, or something related to its particular context.

During the visit:

The areas of focus will influence what inspectors do when they’re in school. At least a couple of these areas will be related to the quality of education but they won’t focus on one subject and they won’t be deep dives. Instead, inspectors will look at a group of subjects together. So, in a primary school, they’re likely to look at early English and early mathematics together or they might look at a group of subjects from the wider curriculum. In a secondary school, there could be a focus on the core subjects and another focus on, for example, vocational subjects. We might focus on a specific aspect across these subjects. For example, perhaps a school has been working on improving assessment. We might then go with the headteacher or another senior leader to visit lessons in a group of subjects and discuss the impact of this new assessment work.

And there will usually be one or two other areas of focus too. These might be related to personal development, behaviour, attendance, or something that includes all of these. Again, these will be decided during the initial phone conversation and will be tailored to the school.

The power of conversation:

Ungraded inspections will allow for a proper conversation between professionals about the school’s strengths, and its areas for improvement. These will be challenging though. We’re also aiming to reduce the burden on subject leaders and instead headteachers and senior leaders will be central to the new ungraded inspections. These inspections will focus more on a dialogue between the senior management and inspectors. So, while they will still want to have conversations with subject leads, they won’t be as intensive. Other elements of inspection, including the framework and inspection methodology are not changing.

More details will be published in September with the new inspection handbook. We will of course update this page with links and support for colleagues. Watch this space!