On the 2nd September, the new Labour government announced it was scrapping Ofsted’s one or two-word grades with immediate effect, promising to replace them with report cards that provide a broader overview of a school. On the same day, an independent learning review for Ofsted also set out a number of recommendations that it has agreed to implement. These comprehensive reforms follow the tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry after an Ofsted inspection, with many welcoming a change to how Ofsted will carry out inspections and support school staff during them.
It’s recommended that you familiarise yourself with the new changes so you can be best prepared for your school’s next inspection. So, in this blog I’m going to summarise the most significant Ofsted reforms you should be aware of and explain how Bromcom MIS can help take some of the stress out of your inspection.
What are the new Ofsted reforms?
The most significant change is getting rid of the controversial grading system. While inspectors will continue to inspect schools in the same way, instead of providing headline grades, they will create a report card (due to be introduced in September 2025) that describes what inspectors have found and provides parents with a more comprehensive overview of a school’s performance.
Moving away from the headline judgements is a step in the right direction. They should result in a fairer judgement of schools, enable parents to probe schools better and find the right school for their child, and ease the considerable stress associated with a one or two-word judgement. Some also argue a more nuanced report that covers multiple areas will hold schools to greater account, particularly as the top-rated ones will not be able to ‘hide’ behind a grade which doesn’t mention areas for improvement.
As well as the new grading system, Ofsted is putting in place a number of other changes including:
- Introducing an ‘Ofsted academy’ to train staff and ensure all inspectors conduct inspections in a professional way with empathy and respect
- Better scrutinising how schools meet the need of vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils
- Pausing the publication of reports where safeguarding concerns are noted at high-performing schools to give schools an opportunity to correct the issues
- Only giving schools notice of an inspection on a Monday so headteachers will know by Monday afternoon if there will be an inspection that week
- Setting up six national hubs, each focusing on a different area of its work, to replace its regional model which has led to inconsistencies in its work
- Always including external sector representatives during their complaints process to ensure all complaints are handled fairly
How Bromcom MIS takes the stress out of Ofsted inspections
Although Ofsted’s reports will change, inspections will not; you still have to provide them with plenty of data on the spot including records, data, and analysis of areas like attendance and behaviour.
With Bromcom MIS, this is simple. Our nimble MIS combines live data, analytics, and Power BI to you can get all the information and insights you need at your fingertips. The attendance dashboard is a great example of this – you can pull the data as the inspectors request it, drill down into it, and instantly react to any questions they ask.
Many academies have also shared with us that Vision has been particularly helpful during inspections as it ensures all key stakeholders have access to the same data and insights. This enables them to share consistent, accurate answers with inspectors and confirms they are providing sufficient support to the academy in question.
How our solutions take the stress out of your workday
From our MIS to our integrated finance system, our products are making running a school and supporting its students much easier, mainly by streamlining processes and giving staff more time to focus on them. Let’s look at some ways our MIS in particular benefits users:
- It’s cloud-based, meaning you can use the MIS on the move around the school or from home
- Our fully featured MIS brings together all the functionality you need in one place, saving users from switching between apps and systems to carry out their tasks
- It can automate workflows, like automatically sending out a letter to parents when a pupil’s attendance reaches a certain threshold
- It makes creating reports simple with our ready-made reports and quick report builder
- It includes tools that optimise key processes, like Cloud wTimeTable which is replacing time-consuming, manual timetabling with automatic timetable creation
Are you ready for your next Ofsted inspection?
Although these reforms are the right move, there are still plenty of areas that need to be addressed, namely the fear associated with Ofsted inspections and the inconsistency of judgement among inspectors.
To learn more about how our wide range of solutions can benefit your school, multi-academy trust, or local authority, book a discovery call with our team.
