Schools North East Ofsted Update 2025: Insights, clarity, and collaboration
This week, on 13 and 14 November, over 400 school and trust leaders from across the region came together for the annual Schools North East Ofsted Update events — a key event in the education calendar designed to provide clarity, updates, and open dialogue around Ofsted’s new inspection framework.
This event has never been so critical as we’re entering a period of significant transition, with the major reforms to the Ofsted inspection framework, just one of many policy changes affecting the education sector. The changes, including the shift to a ‘School Report Card’ model, were meant to signal a fundamental rethink of how accountability and performance are measured in our schools, and our Ofsted Update event is the first opportunity for many to get an insight into how the new framework will be implemented.
With that in mind, we were delighted to welcome Ofsted’s Katrina Gueli (Regional Director) and Lee Elliott (Assistant Regional Director) to both Sunderland and Middlesbrough, where they both led a session explaining the latest changes.
A deep dive into the updated framework
Katrina and Lee provided an overview of the updates made, outlining how the framework has been developed to support high-quality education, child well-being, and inclusion.
Among the most significant developments discussed were:
- Introduction of detailed report cards that balance narrative insights with grades, providing parents with a richer, more transparent view of their child’s school.
- A five-point grading scale offering clearer evaluation and a more nuanced understanding of performance.
- A strengthened focus on inclusion and safeguarding, with safeguarding now evaluated as a standalone area (met/not met) rather than graded.
- A different approach to inspection including a defined working day of 8am-5pm.
A new Ofsted Explore platform has also been designed to share contextual information about schools and their local areas.
Katrina highlighted that the updated methodology is built on the principles of professionalism, collaboration, and proportionality, with inspections tailored to each school’s context rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Further key themes explored include:
Supporting workload and well-being
The revised methodology aims to reduce unnecessary burdens on schools, focusing only on activities that add value. Inspection days now finish no later than 5 PM, and additional inspectors have been recruited to allow more time for understanding each school’s context. Training for inspectors has also been strengthened to promote professional dialogue and support staff well-being.
Fairness, inclusion, and context
A renewed focus on inclusion and fairness underpins the framework. Case sampling now helps inspectors understand how schools support vulnerable pupils without adding to workload or causing distress. The approach ensures that judgments reflect each school’s unique context, particularly within special schools and alternative provisions.
Monitoring and feedback improvements
Schools showing clear improvement can now have their grades updated more quickly following monitoring visits. Reports include richer narratives to reflect each school’s individuality, and draft reports are shared within 18 working days, ensuring transparency and timely feedback.
Lively Q&A and open dialogue
The events included an engaging live Q&A session with Katrina Gueli and colleagues, giving delegates the opportunity to put their questions directly to Ofsted—both in person and via SLIDO.
Topics raised across both days included the definition of the “expected standard,” the shortage of SEND places, and the importance of ensuring that judgments reflect genuine inclusion challenges faced by schools across the North.
Insights from the Ofsted inspection pilots
In addition to the Ofsted overview, delegates also heard from three respected voices in education who shared their firsthand experiences of the new Ofsted inspection pilot programme.
Dr Alexandra Thorp and Bryan Stewart (CEO and Deputy CEO, Gosforth Group) reflected on the trial inspection of Great Park Academy, a growing school achieving strong Key Stage 2 outcomes but not yet at GCSE level. Their insights centred on how the new system compares with the previous framework, particularly in its treatment of context and inclusion.
They concluded that the new framework feels fairer overall, reducing pressure on schools and focusing more on meaningful professional dialogue.
Andy Jordan (Inspection & Accountability Specialist, ASCL) shared key takeaways from eight pilot inspections conducted under the revised framework. He noted a significant shift from a curriculum-led approach to one centred on inclusion, reflecting a more holistic view of school effectiveness.
While this transition appears to reduce pressure on middle leaders, Andy acknowledged it may increase demands on senior leaders, who play a more active role in contextualising inspection evidence.
Looking ahead
The insights shared by Dr Alexandra Thorp, Bryan Stewart and Andy Jordan complemented Katrina & Lee’s overview, offering a balanced and practical understanding of how the new framework is being applied in real school contexts.
As this year’s Schools North East Ofsted Updates showed, the education community continues to move towards a more collaborative, contextual, and compassionate model of inspection—one that values fairness, inclusion, and professional trust.
Thank you to all who joined us for this year’s event, and to our speakers for their honesty, insight, and commitment to improving outcomes for every learner in our region. And a huge thank you main event sponsor, Vivify.
Inspection should never be something schools fear; it should be something that helps us all improve. And in a region like ours — with extraordinary leaders, deep-rooted challenges, and a shared belief in doing the right thing for children — we have every right to expect a system that recognises that excellence takes many forms, not all of them captured in a spreadsheet.
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We will be continuing this vital discussion on the new Ofsted framework at the Schools North East Academies Conference 2026 at the Grand Hotel Gosforth on 29 January. Spaces are limited. Book now.