Schools North East Logo

News

Ofsted investigates inspection gaps at outstanding schools

Ofsted is to examine ‘unusually long gaps’ between inspections of ‘outstanding’-rated schools, according to minutes of a board meeting.

In July, Ofsted’s board requested analysis of inspection intervals for ‘outstanding’ schools with “reasons for any unusually long gaps”.

A policy introduced by the government in 2011 exempts schools with the top grade from further routine inspection as long as data shows they are ‘maintaining performance’.

In January, Schools Week revealed that more than 1,200 schools in England have not had a full inspection in seven years, and more than 100 have been left alone for over a decade.

Read the full article on Schools Week.

Similar News

30
Jan

Leading the way in the North East: Celebrating schools changing lives

30/01/26 Over the past few weeks, many schools and academy trusts across the country…

Read story
30
Jan

Steady hands, bold futures: What the Academies Conference 2026 asked of us

30/01/26 Yesterday (29 January), at the Schools North East Academies Conference 2026, the phrase…

Read story
30
Jan

Rethinking school partnerships: Lessons from RGS Newcastle

30/01/26 In the latest episode of The Schools North East Podcast, we dive into…

Read story