The government has scrapped Ofsted’s one-word ratings for England’s schools with immediate effect.
From Monday, parents will no longer be told whether a school is outstanding, good, requiring improvement or inadequate.
This change follows the tragic suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry, whose school’s ‘inadequate’ rating was found to have played a role in her death. The government hopes the decision will ease pressure on schools and give parents a better understanding of school performance.
Under a new ‘report card’ system launching in September 2025, Ofsted will still inspect schools and provide detailed reports, but the overall one-word grades will no longer be used. School improvement teams will also be set up in every area early next year.
For this academic year, parents will still see the grades in categories such as quality of education and leadership. The Department for Education said that single-word grades don’t fairly reflect overall school performance and are only supported by a few parents and teachers.
Shadow Education Secretary Damian Hinds disagreed, saying that overall inspection outcomes are ‘vital’ for parents and scrapping them is ‘not in the best interests’ of pupils or parents.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “The removal of headline grades is a generational reform and a landmark moment for children, parents and teachers.
“Single headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools. Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing.”
Ruth Perry’s sister, Professor Julia Waters, said in a statement that the family is ‘delighted and relieved’ that the ‘long overdue’ step has been taken.
“The shame, injustice, and high-stakes consequences of an ‘inadequate’ judgement, together with the rude and intimidating conduct of the inspection itself, were the cause of my sister’s mental deterioration and suicide,” she added.
