
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced plans in September to scrap the use of single-phrase ratings for state schools “with immediate effect”.
Instead, those inspected during the next academic year will be graded on areas including the quality of education, behaviour, personal development and leadership seen by inspectors ahead of the introduction of in-depth report cards from September 2025.
Phillipson describes the single-phrase system – which sees schools, early years settings and the work of children’s services departments, among others, rated “outstanding”, “good”, “requires improvement to be good” or “inadequate” – as “low information for parents and high stakes for schools”.
In line with this move, Ofsted’s national director of social care Yvette Stanley confirmed to CYP Now that single-phrase judgments for children’s services and early years inspections will also go, but with a caveat. “We’re travelling in the same direction but we might need to go at a different pace,” she says.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here