Ofsted Ratings Explained
What exactly is the "Ofsted rating" you see when choosing a school, and how should you read it? This guide gives a brief explanation.
What Ofsted is
Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) is England's education standards body. It regularly inspects schools in England and gives them ratings. It only covers England: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own bodies.
The four rating grades
Ofsted's overall rating has four grades: Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate. Outstanding and Good are usually seen as reassuring for parents; the lower two flag areas needing improvement or more serious problems. Note that a rating reflects the situation at the last inspection and may be out of date.
What about Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
These three do not use Ofsted: Scotland is inspected by Education Scotland, Wales by Estyn and Northern Ireland by the ETI. Their approaches differ from England's and cannot be compared directly with Ofsted ratings.
What to look at beyond the rating
An Ofsted rating is only one dimension. It is best combined with a school's exam results (GCSE / A-level / KS2), admissions policy and location. You can browse schools by results on the UK school rankings pages.