Understanding a school inspection report

View our latest report here.

School inspection reports will have information such as:

  • how well inspectors think the school is doing and what it could do to makes things even better
  • how well pupils are doing, both in their education and their overall well-being and personal development
  • what parents and carers think about the school
  • how up to date the school buildings are, including any boarding school living accommodation
  • how any problems or complaints are dealt with
  • how the school complies with rules and regulations.

The school inspection report often helps parents and carers decide if they want to send their child to the school. In particular it includes an overall score for how good a school is:

  • grade 1 (outstanding)
  • grade 2 (good)
  • grade 3 (satisfactory)
  • grade 4 (inadequate).

What’s in the report and how long it is will depend on the type of inspection the school has received and if it is a maintained or independent school.

If a school is satisfactory or is judged inadequate and requires a notice to improve or special measures, the report will explain why. We will monitor up to 40% of schools judged to be satisfactory; we will also carry out monitoring inspections of schools which require a notice to improve or special measures. These inspections will also have reports, but they will be shorter and just be about how the school is progressing.

For further information about inspections, go to the Inspecting schools pages.

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