Education News: Ofsted Pressure and the September Inspection Changes

Ofsted's new report-card inspections dominate the education agenda this fortnight, with fresh survey evidence on how heads are coping, new guidance on SEND provision, and confirmation of further changes due in September.

Heads report a 'negative' experience of the new inspections

A survey of 100 headteachers inspected under Ofsted's new report-card framework found 70% said it had a negative effect on their wellbeing, 64% disagreed that the new framework is an improvement on the old one, and only 53% felt their grades were fair. Just 14 spoke positively and eight said they plan to leave before facing another inspection. The research landed as 1,360 state schools had been inspected under the framework by the end of May. Source: Schools Week.

DfE sets out how schools should run SEND inclusion bases

The Department for Education published non-statutory guidance saying day-to-day responsibility for a mainstream school's inclusion base must sit with a qualified teacher, and that a base must never be used as a sanction. It distinguishes local-authority-commissioned specialist bases from school or trust support bases, and says Ofsted will review bases during inspection against six principles. School leaders questioned whether enough funding has been attached. Source: Tes.

Ofsted confirms the September 2026 changes

Ofsted has set out the updates taking effect in September: a statistical model grouping schools of similar context to compare achievement more fairly, a broader definition of inclusion beyond statutory groups, revised learning-walk guidance to cut workload in smaller schools, and more comparative data published alongside report cards. Ofsted stressed it will not hold schools to account for reforms that have not happened yet. Source: Ofsted.

What it means for school leaders

For now the framework is bedding in rather than settling, so a single report card says less about a school than the trend across the changes still landing. If your school is in the inspection window, read the September updates closely, since the context-grouping model and the wider inclusion definition change how judgements are framed. Our guides on how Ofsted ratings work and Progress 8 explain the measures behind the headlines.