How Ofsted is putting children known to social care at the heart of education inspections

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Text reads: How Ofsted is putting children known to social care at the heart of education inspections. Two children walk down a school corridor smiling at one another.

Children in care are among the most vulnerable in our society. Too often they face significant challenges that can make success harder to achieve. Yet we also know how transformative the right support can be. When schools and colleges get it right, children in …

How we consider complaints about schools

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Leaders, local authorities, parents and carers frequently ask about how we deal with complaints about a school. When we receive a complaint, we never rush to inspect. In this blog, I’ll explain the processes that we follow when deciding whether to inspect a school.  If a parent has a concern about their child’s school, they should first go through …

Initial teacher education inspections: frequently asked questions

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Since we published the renewed inspection framework on 9 September 2025, we’ve put on lots of online and face-to-face engagement with initial teacher education (ITE) providers to answer your questions. We’re publishing the most frequently asked questions below, so you …

What the government's updated guidance on mobile phones means for school inspections

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Text reads: What the government's guidance on mobile phones means for school inspection

You may have seen that the Department for Education (DfE) is tightening its guidance on mobile phones in schools. Our Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has said many times that you already have his and Ofsted's full backing to ban mobile phones …

Further education and skills inspections: frequently asked questions

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Since we published the renewed inspection framework on 9 September 2025, we’ve put on lots of online and face-to-face engagement with further education and skills (FE) providers to answer your questions. We’re publishing the most frequently asked questions below, so …