Ofsted changes for the 2022/23 academic year: summary

Ofsted has made small updates to its inspection handbooks for September 2022. See what's changed for this academic year so you can keep on top of what's new.

Last reviewed on 1 November 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 39418
Contents
  1. Ofsted's transitional period ended in September 2022
  2. Terminology and structure tweaks to the handbooks

This is a nice, short update – there aren't many changes to the handbooks from September.

Ofsted's transitional period ended in September 2022

Ofsted ended the transitional arrangements that were in place. These were introduced (and subsequently extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic) to help schools transition to the 2019 inspection framework, and affected how inspectors judged your school's quality of education. 

However, even though the transition period has ended, Ofsted isn't introducing a "cliff edge" for a judgement of 'good'. It recognises that schools are likely always to be revising elements of their curriculum, and won't suddenly expect you to meet every single criterion to remain 'good'.

Ofsted has also added a new 'good' grade descriptor for ‘quality of education’

The curriculum may undergo necessary changes (for example, following a review by senior leaders or to take account of