Understanding Ofsted Ratings: What They Mean and What They Miss

Outstanding — The school excels in all areas. Fewer than 20% of schools hold this rating. Good — The school is effective, with strong teaching and leadership. This is where most schools sit — and a Good school is still a very good school. Requires Improvement — The school is not yet providing an adequate standard. Ofsted will re-inspect within 30 months. Inadequate — Serious failings. The school may be placed in special measures with rapid intervention from the DfE.

Ofsted uses four key judgement areas: • Quality of education — curriculum design, teaching quality, assessment • Behaviour and attitudes — pupil conduct, attendance, bullying • Personal development — character, resilience, respect, careers guidance • Leadership and management — vision, safeguarding, governance, staff wellbeing For schools with early years or sixth forms, those are judged separately too.

• How happy children are day-to-day • Whether the school suits YOUR child specifically • How good the SEN provision really is (beyond a surface check) • Whether recent leadership changes are transforming the school • The quality of extracurricular activities and pastoral care A school rated Good might have a warmer, more nurturing culture than an Outstanding one. Always visit.

A single rating is a snapshot. What matters more is the trajectory. On PickMySchool, you can load the full inspection history for any school to see whether it is improving, stable, or declining. A school that went from Requires Improvement to Good is arguably more promising than one that has been Outstanding for 10 years and hasn't been re-inspected.

Independent schools are inspected by the ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate), not Ofsted. ISI uses different ratings: Excellent, Good, Sound, and Unsatisfactory. PickMySchool shows ISI inspection history for independent schools — look for the "Load ISI inspection history" button on the school profile.

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