Blowing Hot and Cold: The New Ofsted Framework and the Challenge of Leading on Behaviour
Analysis of inspection reports since 2023 indicates Ofsted’s growing ambivalence toward behaviour. While attendance dominates the joint judgement area, low behavior coverage masks serious risks for schools issued specific "next steps."
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Attendance and the new Ofsted Framework: Some emergent insights
The new Ofsted framework promised to focus on inclusion. Achieving, belonging and thriving sit at the heart of the new inspection processes. As the most critical facet of inclusion, attendance should be reflected in the reality of school’s experiences of inspection, not just the rhetoric.
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The Volatility of the New Ofsted Framework for Primary Schools
This blog is the third instalment where we are looking at data from our tracking of Ofsted inspection reports, to show how the new framework is playing out for schools. Here we focus on primary schools and outline how the new framework and inspection processes appear to more challenging for this sector.
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A rose by any other name? Reading across old and new Ofsted inspection gradings
Twice in the past month, the HMCI Sir Martyn Oliver has made an identical claim about the new Ofsted inspection framework judgements: “There is no read-across from the old grades to the new”, a striking claim and one that is doubted by many in the education sector.
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How the new Ofsted framework is changing inspections
This post presents our first analysis of what is happening under the new inspection framework, based on almost 550 ‘next steps’ published in reports for schools that have been inspected since November 2025.
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Enhancing inclusion through student leadership: A case in point
With a clear focus on inclusion in the new inspection framework, what better way to show your commitment to this than through enhancing student voice and leadership mechanisms at your school?
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From compliance to culture-building: ensuring readiness for Ofsted inspection
When schools are fully ready for inspection processes, school leaders are enabled to focus on demonstrating their school’s true purpose. When this happens, inspection outcomes are more likely to validate school self-evaluation and recognise their culture.
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Hard Cases: Why we need to talk about behaviour
Everyone is talking about behaviour, and what they are saying is worrying.
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Reflections on the new inspection framework: Old wine in new bottles or a vintage year?
So, the new Ofsted inspection framework is finally with us, almost exactly two months before it will be used in earnest for the first time.
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Student Leadership: A more nuanced approach to participation and empowerment
Since the turn of the calendar year, I have been responsible for SSAT’s offer for supporting schools in supporting student leadership. When I took on this role, I couldn’t have been more delighted because my first brief as a newly appointed assistant headteacher was to build our school’s student leadership offer. Exactly twenty years later, I was being asked to return to where my whole-school leadership journey started.
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