SSAT have been tracking every ‘need to improve’ comment from every inspection conducted since September 2023. With over 23,000 lines of data, our work provides unparalleled insights about what is really happening in inspections in England at a time of profound change.
This blogpost looks at what has changed between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, offering some insights into the impact of changes to the inspection framework in response to the Big Listen. In doing so, we have identified some clues about what we might expect from the new framework for the 2025/26 academic year and beyond.
The importance of teaching (and learning)
Teaching and learning, and classroom practice more generally, appear to have come into far sharper focus for the inspectorate this academic year. Formative assessment has strengthened its position as the most frequent ‘need to improve’ comment and – linked to this – the ways in which teachers adapt provision has more than doubled in frequency. The ‘need to improve’ that has increased the most (more than trebling in frequency in inspection reports) has been the teaching of writing. This need is even more common for primary schools, appearing in almost one in ten inspection reports at present with the frequency continuing to increase.
| Teaching and Learning Focused Need to Improve Comments | 23/24 | 24/25 | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment for checking understanding is not effective | 14.0% | 16.0% | +2.0% |
| Implementation of the curriculum in lessons is problematic | 11.3% | 11.9% | +0.6% |
| Prior knowledge recall is ineffective leading to knowledge gaps | 4.6% | 5.0% | +0.4% |
| Adaptations to challenge/support pupils are not always evident | 2.7% | 5.6% | +2.9% |
| Writing skills are not taught or learned effectively enough | 1.6% | 6.8% | +4.2% |
As we know, ‘developing teaching’ is set to be one of the new headline measures for schools based upon the consultation published by Ofsted earlier this year. These figures indicate that the changes from November are already happening and the quarterly figures that underpin the data in the table suggest that this focus on teaching and learning continues to strengthen.
Curriculum – dethroned or largely done?
On the other side of the ledger, it has been striking how far the ‘curriculum is king’ message has been dethroned (at least in terms of the frequency of improvement needs). Comments about the curriculum being unfinished or unambitious have plummeted in every quarter of inspection activity since their highest frequency of around 10% in the final months of the Spielman era.
| Curriculum Focused Need to Improve Comments | 23/24 | 24/25 | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum planning is unambitious and/or incomplete | 8.2% | 2.4% | -5.8% |
| Subject content, knowledge and/or sequencing concerns | 8.1% | 6.8% | -1.3% |
| Evaluation of curriculum implementation/impact is limited | 3.8% | 2.5% | -1.3% |
| Staff knowledge is insufficient for curriculum delivery | 2.9% | 1.7% | -1.2% |
| Broad and balanced curriculum is not assured for all pupils | 0.4% | 0.3% | -0.1% |
In total, curriculum-focused need to improve comments dropped from a frequency of 23% last academic year to a frequency of 13% this academic year. That drop of 10% has been more than matched by the increased focus on teaching and learning shown above. It will be interesting to see how this balance between the planned and the enacted curriculum plays out in the new framework, which seem certain to maintain a focus on both as separate judgments.
Attendance trumps behaviour, for now
Within the slight increase seen this academic year in ‘behaviour and attitudes’ comments (from 10.5% to 10.9% of all improvement needs), attendance concerns lead the way. There has been a notably increased frequency of comments about attendance and a drop in the frequency of all comments about behaviour, apart from those concerning attitude to learning and engagement in lessons. This perhaps reinforces the focus on the classroom interactions noted earlier.
| Attendance Focused Need to Improve Comments | 23/24 | 24/25 | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance and/or punctuality is poor and needs addressing | 5.1% | 5.4% | +0.3% |
| Regular attendance of disadvantaged and/or SEND needs improving. | 0.3% | 0.5% | +0.2% |
| Absence coding and data analysis fail to identify barriers | 0.2% | 0.3% | +0.1% |
| Behaviour Focused Need to Improve Comments | 23/24 | 24/25 | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application of behaviour policy is inconsistent | 2.0% | 1.8% | -0.2% |
| Pupil behaviour and conduct is problematic | 1.4% | 0.8% | -0.6% |
| Attitude to learning and engagement are problematic | 0.6% | 0.7% | +0.1% |
| Behaviour policy, sanctions and suspensions/exclusions are not working | 0.6% | 0.4% | -0.2% |
| High level misbehaviour not effectively addressed | 0.3% | 0.2% | -0.1% |
It will be interesting to see what happens to the plans outlined in the consultation to split attendance from the behaviour and attitudes judgement. For many positive reasons, the quality of education has dominated the current inspection framework, with close to three-quarters of all ‘need to improve’ comments being linked to this judgement. With more non-QE strands to inspection (currently) planned, will this mean that behaviour needs come more to the fore, or does the reduction in behaviour-focused comments in 2024/25 suggest that this will not be so? And as attendance rates seem to be improving more rapidly this academic year, will the focus on absence management processes become less prominent than in the initial consultation?
An aside about inclusion
Much has been made, by Ofsted and others, of the centrality of inclusion in the new framework. Indeed, recent comments from the HMCI suggest that this will not be one of the aspects of the new framework to be diluted after the consultation process. The table below shows that there have been some notable increases in the frequency of comments linked to different aspects of the inclusion agenda. The most striking increases have been around support for students with SEND and for students whose attendance and behaviour indicates additional needs that are not currently being met. There has not been significant additional focus on cultural differences and the equalities duties within the personal development curriculum. Indeed, personal development improvement needs have declined from 5.0% of all comments in 2023-24 to just 4.0% of comments in 2024-25: it is very much the Cinderella of the current framework.
| Inclusion Focused Need to Improve Comments | 23/24 | 24/25 | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils with SEND are not supported well enough | 4.9% | 5.5% | +0.6% |
| Knowledge of other cultures and faiths by pupils is limited | 1.0% | 0.6% | -0.4% |
| Regular attendance of disadvantaged and/or SEND needs improving | 0.3% | 0.5% | +0.2% |
| Disadvantaged pupils do not learn and/or achieve well | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0 |
| Equality and diversity knowledge is underdeveloped | 0.1% | 0.2% | +0.1% |
| Support for student welfare, behaviour and attendance is limited | 0.0% | 0.5% | +0.5% |
At present, inclusion is planned as both a separate judgement and a lens through which all other judgements are considered. Much work is being done at present to clarify what it means as a key term for inspection. But it is difficult to see how inclusion as both a judgement and a lens might be sustained under the pressure to reduce the number of areas of focus. Perhaps the HMCI’s recent statements about the importance of inclusion are attempts to manage the room if it is removed as a separate judgement and is strengthened as a lens?
Leadership – assessing both frequency and risk
Need to improve comments about leadership and management have declined from 13.6% of all comments in 2023-24 to being just 12% in 2024-25. There have been sharp decreases around curriculum evaluation (as discussed earlier), stakeholder engagement and subject leadership. Safeguarding issues are also down; a reflection of the changes made to the framework this academic year to give schools more time to respond to concerns thrown up on inspection. The proportion of comments about ensuring focused professional learning has almost doubled and, from a very low base, the number of comments about low expectations of students has trebled.
| Leadership Focused Need to Improve Comments | 23/24 | 24/25 | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evaluation of curriculum implementation/impact is limited | 3.8% | 2.5% | -1.3% |
| Governance does not effectively challenge school leaders | 1.8% | 1.4% | -0.4% |
| Monitoring and evaluation processes are ineffective | 1.7% | 1.9% | +0.2% |
| Stakeholders do not feel valued or engaged by the school | 1.5% | 1.0% | -0.5% |
| Subject leadership is not consistently strong | 1.1% | 0.5% | -0.6% |
| Safeguarding records or processes require attention | 0.8% | 0.5% | -0.3% |
| Professional learning for staff is not matched to needs | 0.7% | 1.2% | +0.5% |
| Improvement planning is not effective and/or lacks impact | 0.6% | 0.7% | +0.1% |
| Statutory safeguarding guidance is not followed or embedded | 0.4% | 0.3% | -0.1% |
| Expectations of students are generally too low | 0.2% | 0.6% | +0.4% |
Set alongside this low level of frequency, though, are the risks that come with leadership and management ‘need to improve’ comments. Correlating these with risks of unwanted judgements, the table below shows the five leadership needs that carry a 40% or higher risk of negative outcomes on inspection (for all needs there is a 26% risk of an RI or Inadequate).
Whilst falling foul of statutory safeguarding requirements is rightly the riskiest of improvement need, it is also the least frequent this academic year. Perhaps the biggest concerns for school leaders ought to be around governance and monitoring processes as both have a relatively high frequency and a relatively high risk, a dangerous combination in any risk assessment.
| Risks of Leadership Focused Need to Improve Comments | RI | Inadequate |
|---|---|---|
| Governance does not effectively challenge school leaders | 43% | 15% |
| Monitoring and evaluation processes are ineffective | 34% | 7% |
| Improvement planning is not effective and/or lacks impact | 36% | 40% |
| Statutory safeguarding guidance is not followed or embedded | 20% | 68% |
| Expectations of students are generally too low | 48% | 0% |
In the context of leadership, two things are significant in the draft school inspection toolkit that accompanied the proposals for changes to the inspection framework. The first is the focus upon governance (replacing the word ‘management’). The second is that it was the first of the judgements, a position it has never occupied in previous iterations of the inspection framework. Although the data from the last two academic years shows a declining focus on leadership and governance (including the governance functions of leadership) in terms of frequency, the risks associated with visible – by which we mean visibly ineffective – leadership remain significant.
Join us for more insights from inspections
This blogpost has scratched the surface of some interesting changes to inspection focus between last academic year on this one. Throughout the year, SSAT offers school leaders the opportunity to enhance their readiness for inspection by attending one of our webinars exploring the data at far greater depth.
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