Inspection criteria

Ofsted will consider your attendance data when grading specific areas. Understand what evidence inspectors will want to look at, and what they want to see for 'outstanding' and 'good' judgements.

Prepare your pupils for life in modern Britain by providing 'cultural capital' that celebrates all cultures, and reflects your community and the country's diversity.

Ofsted will consider ‘cultural capital’ when assessing your quality of education, but what does this actually mean? Read on to find out how inspectors will evaluate it in your school.

Ofsted doesn't have set criteria for evaluating health and safety, but inspectors will report on any failure to comply with statutory requirements. Be clear on your obligations and how to meet them, so you can feel prepared for inspectors' questions.

Learn how Ofsted inspects 'behaviour and attitudes' in a graded inspection under the Ofsted inspection framework. This judgement covers behaviour, attendance, exclusion and attitudes to learning.

Learn how Ofsted inspects your Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision for pupils aged 2 and over. Understand what inspectors are looking for, find details of the EYFS grade descriptors and see examples of 'outstanding' EYFS provision.

Get to grips with how governance is inspected under the Ofsted framework, and the role of governors on inspection day.

Understand which parts of school leadership and management will be judged under the Ofsted inspection framework. See what evidence you can provide and read a summary of the grade descriptors.

Learn how 'personal development' is inspected under the Ofsted framework, including how SMSC development is considered. Download our list of questions inspectors might ask, including ones about British values.

Understand what Ofsted expects to see in your safeguarding arrangements, and what evidence inspectors will collect during an inspection. Download our list of questions Ofsted might ask about child protection, including how you handle sexual harassment and abuse in your school.

Understand how Ofsted will inspect sixth form provision in schools under the September 2024 School Inspection Handbook.

Ofsted's 'quality of education' measure puts your curriculum in the spotlight. Understand how inspectors will judge your intent, implementation and impact, and the evidence they'll consider.

Learn how Ofsted defines 'disadvantaged' pupils and considers how well your provision supports these pupils.

Relationships and sex education (RSE) won't be inspected on its own – instead, Ofsted will look at how you're meeting statutory requirements for RSE, and consider this within your 'personal development' and 'leadership and management' judgements.

Be clear on the changes Ofsted has made to its inspection handbook for September 2024, so you can keep on top of what's new.

Summary evaluations are Ofsted's approach to gathering findings about a trust. Find out what happens at each stage of the process, what Ofsted will expect of you and your leadership team and what it's likely to consider.

Get a handle on what Ofsted could ask you and your colleagues about a subject during a graded inspection 'deep dive', all in one place. See what inspectors could ask about art, computing, English, geography, history, maths, modern foreign languages, PE, PSHE, and science.

Ofsted inspectors won't grade your policies, but they'll want to know how you're implementing them. Find out what inspectors would want to see from your school.