From Autumn 2020, Ofsted will carry out ‘visits’ and not inspections that will aim to reassure parents, ministers and the public about how schools and colleges are managing the return to full education of their pupils and students.
Inspectors will use the visits to work collaboratively with leaders, listening and providing appropriate challenge.
The visits will not be graded. Instead, the outcomes of the discussions with school and college leaders will be published in a brief letter so that parents can understand what steps are being taken to help children back into full time education.
The visits will be piloted with volunteer schools and colleges from September. A return to full education inspections is planned for January 2021 but this date will be kept under review.
Regulatory role
Going into the autumn, we will be making visits to a range of providers and these will be designed to reflect the work those providers do and our regulatory role.
Visits will be made to nurseries and Child Minders to monitor progress and regulatory standards, particularly looking at those where we have concerns, but including a wider sample.
There is a plan to resume routine inspections in January 2021.