If you’ve looked up a school’s Ofsted report recently and found something completely different from what you remember, that’s not a mistake. Ofsted overhauled its entire inspection system in late 2025. This guide explains how to read the new report cards.
Quick Answer: What Changed?
From 10 November 2025, Ofsted replaced the familiar single-word grade (Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate) with a “report card” that grades schools separately across several distinct areas, using a five-point scale. There is no single overall grade anymore, so a school can no longer be judged “Good” as one simple label.
The New Five-Point Scale
- Exceptional: the highest grade.
- Strong standard
- Expected standard
- Needs attention
- Urgent improvement: the lowest grade.
This replaces the previous four-point scale of Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, and Inadequate.
The Six Evaluation Areas
Schools are now graded separately across six areas: leadership and governance, curriculum and teaching, achievement, attendance and behaviour, personal development and wellbeing, and, for the first time, inclusion as its own standalone area. Safeguarding is graded separately again, simply as “met” or “not met,” rather than on the five-point scale.
Why the Change Was Made
The reform followed Ofsted’s 2024 “Big Listen” consultation and was intended to give parents a fuller, more balanced picture of a school rather than one word standing in for everything. Inclusion becoming a dedicated evaluation area reflects a specific push to make how schools support pupils with additional needs more visible, rather than folding it into other judgements as before.
How to Read a Report Card
Rather than looking for a single grade, look at the pattern across all six areas, since a school can be strong in some areas and weaker in others. The report card combines these at-a-glance grades with a narrative explanation for each area, which is worth reading in full rather than relying on the grades alone.
What This Means for Your School Search
Schools inspected before the new framework will still show their old single-word grade until they receive a new inspection, so you may see a mix of old and new formats when comparing schools. It’s worth checking the inspection date on any report you’re reviewing, and treating an older single-word grade as less current than a full new-format report card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is “Requires Improvement” still used?
No, the old four-point scale of Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, and Inadequate has been fully replaced by the new five-point scale of Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, and Urgent improvement.
Will my child’s school get a new-style report immediately?
Not necessarily. Schools only receive a new-format report card once they’re inspected under the new framework, so a school’s page may still show its previous single-word grade until that happens.
What’s different about how inclusion is judged now?
Inclusion is now graded as its own dedicated evaluation area for the first time, rather than being assessed across multiple other judgements as it was previously, giving it more direct visibility in a school’s report.
