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Let's try and understand the role that OFSTED plays in monitoring and improving the standards of education in our schools.

Who is OFSTED?

Formally called the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, OFSTED is the body responsible for the inspection and regulation of schools and other educational establishments. Unlike a lot of Government agencies, OFSTED does not report to a particular Minister or senior civil servant, but direct to Parliament itself. So their objectives can be achieved impartially and fairly.

OFSTED Aims & Methods

The OFSTED web site states their aim is:

"to raise aspirations and contribute to the long term achievement of ambitious standards and better life chances for service users. Their educational, economic and social well-being will in turn promote England's national success."

They achieve this by trying to ensure that services are user driven, improved where and when required and offer effective value for money. OFSTED visits every single school and educational establishment in the country to inspect and report on how they are delivering the services that the Government and parents expect of them. Most schools get inspected every three to five years, depending on the result of their last inspection, and the report the inspectors draw up is always made public so parents can see how their child's school fared.

The inspections are very thorough and take in teaching, administration, pastoral support and the provision of extended services, and the inspectors grade the school according to their findings. The published reports provide parents with information to help them make choices when selecting a school for their children, or to see how well their child's current school is doing.

The OFSTED Grading System

There are FOUR categories in the OFSTED grades awarded to any school following an inspection:

• Grade 1: Outstanding
• Grade 2: Good
• Grade 3: Satisfactory
• Grade 4: Inadequate

The OFSTED website will give you all the information you need about your school, details of the inspection procedure and how the final reports are compiled.

All the schools in the Samuel Whitbread pyramid are OFSTED graded between 1 and 3 and many schools publish their OFSTED report on the school website.