Dr Keven Bartle, Senior Education Lead, SSAT

Double Trouble: What Ofsted reports tell us about doubled disadvantage for schools

New Ofsted data suggests schools facing double disadvantage receive greater scrutiny and lower gradings, especially on attendance and achievement, raising questions about whether inspection is reducing or reinforcing inequality.

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Six Months Later: What we are learning about the new inspection framework

This week marks the half-year anniversary of the introduction into inspection practice of Ofsted’s new inspection framework. SSAT’s Inspection Tracker is the most thorough attempt to get under the bonnet of the inspection process. This short post identifies what appear to be consistent patterns and established trends within the data, and notices microtrends that potentially show how the new framework is evolving in response to actual inspections.

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Blowing Hot and Cold: The New Ofsted Framework and the Challenge of Leading on Behaviour

Analysis of inspection reports since 2023 indicates Ofsted’s growing ambivalence toward behaviour. While attendance dominates the joint judgement area, low behavior coverage masks serious risks for schools issued specific "next steps."

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Attendance and the new Ofsted Framework: Some emergent insights

The new Ofsted framework promised to focus on inclusion. Achieving, belonging and thriving sit at the heart of the new inspection processes. As the most critical facet of inclusion, attendance should be reflected in the reality of school’s experiences of inspection, not just the rhetoric.

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The Volatility of the New Ofsted Framework for Primary Schools

This blog is the third instalment where we are looking at data from our tracking of Ofsted inspection reports, to show how the new framework is playing out for schools. Here we focus on primary schools and outline how the new framework and inspection processes appear to more challenging for this sector.

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A rose by any other name? Reading across old and new Ofsted inspection gradings

Twice in the past month, the HMCI Sir Martyn Oliver has made an identical claim about the new Ofsted inspection framework judgements: “There is no read-across from the old grades to the new”, a striking claim and one that is doubted by many in the education sector.

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How the new Ofsted framework is changing inspections

This post presents our first analysis of what is happening under the new inspection framework, based on almost 550 ‘next steps’ published in reports for schools that have been inspected since November 2025.

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Enhancing inclusion through student leadership: A case in point

With a clear focus on inclusion in the new inspection framework, what better way to show your commitment to this than through enhancing student voice and leadership mechanisms at your school?

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From compliance to culture-building: ensuring readiness for Ofsted inspection

When schools are fully ready for inspection processes, school leaders are enabled to focus on demonstrating their school’s true purpose. When this happens, inspection outcomes are more likely to validate school self-evaluation and recognise their culture.

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Hard Cases: Why we need to talk about behaviour

Everyone is talking about behaviour, and what they are saying is worrying.

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