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How Ofsted gathers evidence about pupil experience

Pupil voice is a big part of inspection. Understand what Ofsted is looking for, and which pupil groups and topics inspectors are likely to focus on.

Last reviewed on 24 March 2026See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 3255
Contents
  1. Inspectors are looking for achievement, belonging and thriving
  2. An overview of how they’ll do this
  3. When and where will they speak to pupils?
  4. Pupil groups that inspectors will focus on
  5. What topics are they likely to cover? 
  6. Make sure you provide opportunities for inspectors to speak to pupils
  7. What inspectors will ask about RSE

Inspectors are looking for achievement, belonging and thriving

Inspectors will be looking to understand how well pupils at your school:

  • Achieve: are they achieving, academically and personally?
  • Belong: do they feel that they're a valued part of your school community? Do they attend, behave and contribute positively as a result of this?
  • Thrive: do pupils benefit from the right systems and processes so that they're able to flourish, no matter their starting points? For example, are they benefiting from the right special educational needs (SEN) support, if they need it?

An overview of how they’ll do this

Case sampling: Ofsted will look closely at a selection of pupils who have specific needs or face particular barriers Speaking directly to pupils throughout the inspection, sometimes with no other adults present Learning walks: observing pupils in lessons, looking at pupils’ work and talking to pupils about