Ofsted chief calls for new state school standards ‘enshrined in law’

Schools Week • 2025-10-17 12:25 • Original

Ofsted chief wants state school standards 'enshrined in law'

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Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has called for “state school standards enshrined in law” to stop the watchdog “tinkering” with what it assesses in future.

But it is not clear what the standards would cover or how they would differ from the existing plethora of statutory guidance schools already have to follow.

Oliver addressed hundreds of academy trust leaders this morning at the Confederation of School Trusts’ (CST) annual conference in Birmingham.

Here are the key takeaways…

1. State school standards should be ‘enshrined in law’

Oliver said he would like “state school standards enshrined in law” by the Department for Education (DfE) to prevent Ofsted from “tinkering” with what it assesses.

“The next chief inspector might come along and change the framework, or they might not,” he said, alluding to when his tenure as chief inspector ends, “in three years time…or sooner”.

“[The DfE] have enshrined in law the independent school standards.

“I think there should be the state school standards enshrined in law that stops Ofsted then from tinkering around the edges and deciding to do something new,” he said. “That’s not what I think is Ofsted’s job.”

The independent school standards, in force since 2015, lay out eight standards for independent schools including the quality of education, the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, schools’ premises and suitability of staff.

Speaking at the education committee earlier this week, Oliver said the new inspection toolkits “have been written against the statutory and non statutory standards that exist for schools” meaning schools are being assessed on whether they are doing “what they’re supposed to do”.

Ofsted did not provide further details about the proposed state school standards when approached by Schools Week.

2. Schools still displaying headline grades

Oliver told leaders that despite headline grades being scrapped by Ofsted more than a year ago, they are still “displayed proudly outside schools, nurseries, further education providers”.

He said he was “so aware of the one-word judgment banners” when he was driving in the north east, near where he lives, a few weeks ago. “It really brings home the scale of the change we’re making.”

But he described Ofsted’s new framework, launching on November 10, as “a renewed system…that resets and reframes the way schools are seen and the way you see yourselves”.

He said the new framework is “about more than just one word displayed on a banner and instead gives a full, rounded narrative that accounts for the experience of every child within its walls.”

3. New and old grading system should not be compared

Oliver warned against comparing the new framework to the previous one.

“If we’re going to make this level of change, I think it’s really important that we really stop people from doing that,” he said.

‘Exceptional’ – the top grade in Ofsted’s new five-point grading system – “is not the new ‘outstanding’,” he said. “I’m not going to say it’s harder, I’m not going to say it’s less…it’s different.

“You cannot map ‘exceptional’ to ‘outstanding’. You can’t map ‘strong’ to ‘good’. You can’t map ‘expected standard’ to ‘requires improvement’.”

4. ‘You can be inclusive and high-achieving’

Critics fear Ofsted’s reforms could mean schools will be tempted to exclude pupils who are less likely to hit top grades, so they can score highly in the inspectorate’s new ‘achievement’ evaluation area.

But Oliver said he wants to “bust the myth of this false choice between inclusion and high standards”.

“You can be inclusive and high-achieving,” he said. “We want to recognise the tremendous work done by the schools that take on challenging pupils, rather than pushing them away.”

He said being inclusive “means setting and realising high standards” for “children with SEND and on free school meals…for those looked after by the state and those who are young carers”.

“We will demand, as you all do, high standards of academic achievement for these children.”

5. Ofsted backs heads who are firm on behaviour

To this end, Oliver said Ofsted would “back” school leaders “in upholding high standards of behaviour in your schools…backing head teachers to enforce rules and routines”.

“Because it is neither inclusive nor acceptable to acquiesce to the unacceptable behaviour of one pupil at the expense of the other children in their classroom,” he added.

“The most inclusive schools have the calmest classrooms where all children feel safe. So I repeat, inclusion demands high standards.”

6. Ofsted MAT inspections ‘complicated’

Oliver admitted Ofsted’s move to start inspecting MATs – something government plans to implement within this Parliament – “is going to be really complicated”.

He said it will be important to establish “the point” of doing this.

But hinting at the need for greater scrutiny, he said: “I know something’s not quite right.”

He said before he took his role, “too many of my peers were saying they were stopping thinking of sponsoring schools in difficult circumstances.

“My first desire would be to remove that, because that’s just crazy. We want the best people. We’re going to help those schools who need it the most.”

7. ‘Myth’ headteacher stress hasn’t been considered

Oliver also said he wanted to “bust” the “myth” that Ofsted “haven’t considered headteacher stress” in creating its new inspection framework.

“This couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.

He also echoed a previous suggestion that critics of the inspectorate are anti-accountability.

“This is the biggest change to how Ofsted grades in 30 years,” he said. “But for some, it will never be enough because we won’t lessen accountability or remove grading altogether.”

He said the reforms are delivering “smarter accountability that raises standards for children…giving parents better information so they can make informed decisions about their child’s education and care”.

He said Ofsted is also “making things better for teachers by getting true detail in our judgements that allows all schools to show their strengths, by sharing provisional grades as we work with you during the inspection, with early feedback that covers all the points you can expect from the eventual written report card, and by shouting out the positives”.