Inspection rethink revealed - but it's cosmetic, say heads

Proposals for overhauling school inspections have been criticised as cosmetic and vague by school leaders and Department for Education officials, just days before approval by Ofsted's management.

- Richard Adams

Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, has made changes to its new toolkit for carrying out inspections after criticism. It plans to rename grades and shrink the number of evaluation areas, in the latest draft seen by the Guardian, but appears unlikely to win over sceptical teachers in England.

The new system is part of efforts to implement the government's manifesto pledge to replace inspection reports with a "report card" format and do away with single summary grades, including "inadequate", that have become toxic since the death of the headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023.

But Ofsted's struggle to reform its inspection framework is turning into a headache for Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, who is also juggling a curriculum review and an overhaul of special needs education in England that are all scheduled to be published in autumn.

The draft proposals, to be approved by Ofsted's executive on Wednesday, have ditched plans for a "secure" grade and instead renamed it "expected standard", after complaints the original term was confusing.

The top grade, previously proposed as "exemplary", has been replaced by "exceptional"; the "strong" grade amended to "strong standard"; and the lowest "causing concern" grade is changed to "urgent improvement".