How Ofsted inspects 'quality of education'

Be clear on how your school's curriculum will be inspected under the 'quality of education' judgement.

Last reviewed on 4 October 2022
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School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 36197
Contents
  1. Your role as a governing board
  2. Transition period has ended, but your school isn't expected to meet all criteria to stay 'good'
  3. Your school is expected to provide a 32.5-hour school week by September 2023
  4. 3 central concepts: 'intent, implementation and impact'
  5. The inspection is a 3-stage process
  6. In a nutshell: what’s an 'outstanding' quality of education?
  7. Myths about the process, busted

Your role as a governing board

As a governing board, you won't be inspected under Ofsted's 'quality of education' judgement. Find out how governance is inspected.

The sections below are about how Ofsted inspects your school's curriculum. You don't need to know this information in great detail, but understanding the basics could help you monitor your school's approach.

Read our article to find out what questions inspectors might ask you.

Transition period has ended, but your school isn't expected to meet all criteria to stay 'good'

Ofsted ended its curriculum transition arrangements in September 2022. It previously put these arrangements in place to help schools transition to the 2019 Ofsted framework, and extended them due to the pandemic.

Ofsted has added a new 'good' grade

Read next

Also in "The inspection framework"