Ofsted has published its annual report and accounts for the 2024-25 academic year.
The report covers a period of major change during which Ofsted’s overall school effectiveness grades were scrapped and the watchdog consulted on plans to launch new school inspections based on report cards. These new inspections are due to launch in a staggered start in November.
Here are six key findings from Ofsted’s .
1. Ofsted carried out fewer school inspections than planned
Ofsted carried out fewer school inspections in 2024-25 than it had planned, according to the report. It carried out 6,471 of the 7,001 inspections planned (92 per cent).
This was partly down to the pause in inspections at the start of the January term in 2024 to provide all inspectors with mental health awareness training. This delayed return to inspection followed the inquest into the death of headteacher Ruth Perry. The report says this resulted in a shortfall of 417 inspections (6 per cent) at the end of the 2023-24 year.
Ofsted says it then “prioritised” those outstanding inspections at the start of this year and added them to its 2024-25 targets.
The shortfall was also in part due to Ofsted pausing routine inspections in September 2024 to make changes connected to the immediate removal of the overall single-word effectiveness judgement. This pause led to the loss of 341 planned inspections.
2. Ofsted staff less positive about their employer
Ofsted has done less well than the previous year on a metric measuring how staff feel about their employer.
The Employee Engagement Index for Ofsted was at 64 per cent for 2024-25, falling from 68 per cent in 2023-24.
This is below the benchmark score for the entire civil service (65 per cent).
3. Almost a third of staff absence due to stress
Sickness absence at Ofsted was also higher in 2024-25, according to the report.
The average number of working days lost rose to 7.3 days, above Ofsted’s target of 6.8 days.
Almost a third of absences were due to stress, anxiety or other psychological conditions. While this proportion was lower than the civil service average, Ofsted says it will continue to try to “reduce it”.
4. More than 100 inspectors left Ofsted
Staff turnover at Ofsted was 10.9 per cent, which was higher than the civil service target.
According to the report, 113 inspectors left Ofsted across all of its remits in 2024-25.
Ofsted says that many of these “returned to their own sector” but remained working with the school watchdog as contracted inspectors.
5. A quarter of school complaints were at least partly upheld
More than one in four complaints from schools about inspection had an element of the complaint upheld.
The report says that of 410 complaints from schools that were closed in 2024-25, 110 were closed with an aspect of the complaint upheld (26 per cent).
However, only two inspections had their judgement changed as a result of the complaint. Another nine inspections were recorded as incomplete as a result of a complaint.
The report also reveals that Ofsted received more complaints from providers following an inspection last year, increasing from 563 to 780 in 2024-25.
6. Stakeholder relationships will be ‘significant challenge’
Ofsted identifies that its relationship with “key stakeholders” is a “significant challenge” as it implements reforms to its inspections.
“We have committed to an ambitious package of reform measures. A significant challenge for the next year will be our relationship with our key stakeholders,” its report says.
“We will need to maintain the confidence of the sectors we inspect and regulate in our ability to improve standards and deliver on our programme of work alongside other competing priorities.”
You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on and on
