School Inspections were suspended after the Coroner found that a single word judgement “Inadequate” by a School Inspector provoked the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry. Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) has undertaken a review of how it inspects schools and carried out a consultation with parents and professionals, to which ACERT contributed.
The new system of report cards cover:
- Safeguarding
- Inclusion
- Curriculum and teaching
- Achievement
- Attendance and behaviour
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Leadership and governance
- Early years (if applicable)
- Sixth form (if applicable)
Safeguarding will be judged separately as a stand-alone area, as either ‘met’ or ‘not met’.
The other areas will be judged on a 5-point grading scale.
- Exceptional
- Strong standard
- Expected standard
- Needs attention
- Urgent improvement
The report card will also include a short narrative explanation for each grade and what the school needs to do to address any concerns.
Report cards are designed to advise parents and carers on who to trust with the care and education of their child.
Here is an introductory video for parents.
The school inspection toolkit tells inspectors what to look for when giving grades for each of the inspection focuses.
The ACERT Education Support Network discussed the new framework at their meeting on 10th January 2026. Below is the presentation from that meeting which summarises the aspects of the framework which could be of particular relevance to our families.
