School inspections A guide for parents1
This document applies to all maintained schools including special schools and pupil referral units. It also covers academies, city technology colleges, city colleges for the technology of the arts and some non-maintained special schools in England. 2
Why does Ofsted inspect schools? We inspect schools to provide information to parents, to promote improvement and to hold schools to account for the public money they receive. School inspections are required by law. We provide an independent assessment of the quality and standards of education in schools, and check whether pupils are achieving as much as they can.
When do inspections happen and how long do they last? A school that was judged to be outstanding at its last inspection is exempt from routine inspection. We will not normally inspect ‘exempt schools’ unless we have a concern about their performance. Ofsted will also carry out an annual assessment of an exempt school’s performance (from the third year after the school’s last inspection) to determine whether an inspection might be necessary. Exempt schools continue to be inspected as part of Ofsted’s programme of surveys of curriculum subjects and aspects of the curriculum. Exemption from inspection does not apply to maintained nursery schools, Special Schools or Pupil Referral Units.
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Parents’ refers to mothers, fathers and/or carers.
Academies are state-funded independent schools. The same inspection schedule and associated guidance apply to academies as to other maintained schools. The family of academy schools includes: sponsor-led academies, schools that have converted to academy status under the Academies Act 2010, academy special schools, free schools, university technical colleges, and studio schools. 16-19 academies are inspected under arrangements for the inspection of further education colleges.