Blogs > Life in the UK

Ofsted: UK School Inspection Report

• January 17, 2020

Ofsted stands for the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. It is an independent body that reports directly to Parliament. Ofsted inspects services in the UK that provide education and skills for learners of all ages.

Each week, Ofsted carry out hundreds of inspections and regulatory visits throughout England publish the results online. The body has around 1,800 employees across 8 regions:

• East Midlands
• East of England
• North East, Yorkshire and Humber
• North West
• South East
• South West
• West Midlands
• London

Ofsted is responsible for:

1. The inspection and regulation of educational institutions including independent schools, state schools, academies and childcare facilities
2. The inspection of agencies responsible for adoption, fostering and other social care services
3. The inspection of other services for children and young people
4. Carry out research on education and social care
5. Reporting on the above institutions and relaying the information to the government

What is an Ofsted rating and why is it important to me?

When you are researching into the school that you want your child to attend, it is essential to look at the school’s Ofsted rating as it will give an indication into its quality of teaching and pupils’ achievements. There are four Ofsted ratings:

Grade 1: Outstanding

An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for the needs of its pupils and prepares them for the next stage of their education or employment at the highest possible level. 

Grade 2: Good

A good school provides well for the needs of its pupils and prepares them effectively for the next stage of their education or employment.

Grade 3: Requires Improvement

A school that requires improvement is not inadequate, but neither is it satisfactory.

Grade 4: Inadequate

An inadequate school has significant weaknesses and is failing to prepare its students effectively for the next stages of their lives. The management and leadership, however, are judged to be Grade 3 and above.

To search for a school’s Ofsted report, click here.

When you are reading a school’s report, look out for their scores in:

• Leadership and management
• Behaviour and safety of pupils
• Quality of teaching
• Achievement of pupils
• Summary
• Final judgements

Please note if you are relocating to Wales, the school inspection body is called Estyn - https://www.estyn.gov.wales/

If you are relocating to Scotland, you can search their reports here - https://www.mygov.scot/school-inspection-reports/

Northern Ireland can be found here - https://www.etini.gov.uk/

Childcare

If you are a doctor that has children younger than school age, please have a read of our blog post on the childcare options available in the UK.

Relocation to the UK

If you are an international doctor who has decided that you would like our support in securing an NHS service post, email your CV to [email protected] and we can support you in securing an NHS job and on your journey to the UK today.

Are you a member of our Facebook Group? When you join IMG Advisor, you will join a community of doctors all looking to relocate to the UK and join the NHS. We post a series of blogs and vlogs into the group every single day. We will also always be on hand to answer all your relocation queries.

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References

Engage Education. (2020). What is OFSTED? | Educational Standards - Engage Education. [online] Available at: https://engage-education.com/blog/video-article/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2020].