What is off-rolling?
Off-rolling is using unlawful means to remove a pupil from a school roll. It will be considered during an Ofsted inspection.
If inspectors were to find evidence of off-rolling, they'd likely judge the leadership and management of a school to be inadequate (see paragraph 429 of the School Inspection Handbook).
Ofsted's definition
Off-rolling is a form of gaming where a school does one of the following, and the decision is made primarily in the interests of the school and not the pupil:
- Removes a pupil from the school roll without a formal, permanent exclusion
- Encourages a parent to remove their child from the school roll
- Encourages a sixth form student not to continue with their course of study
- Keeps a pupil on the school roll but does not allow them to attend school normally, without a formal permanent exclusion or suspension
The DfE's stance on off-rolling