Your SEF can take any approach that suits your school
Our self-evaluation resources, including our template self-evaluation form (SEF), aim to help you use Ofsted's State-funded School Inspection Toolkit to support your self-evaluation and continuous improvement.
However, inspectors don't expect you to complete any formal self-evaluation using the Ofsted toolkit, and don't expect your SEF to be in any particular format.
Ofsted will use its toolkit during an inspection to:
- Guide conversations and support a shared understanding and discussion of your school's work, context and areas for further exploration
- Reflect on evidence and make sure grades reflect the evidence that inspectors gather
In the planning call before an inspection, Ofsted will also ask where you see yourself against the 5-point scale of each evaluation area.
This is set out in the 'potential misconceptions' section of the Information for state-funded schools.
Before filling in your SEF, identify your priorities for school improvement and work out the standard of your