Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills, has reportedly downgraded hundreds of great schools in England after their first re-inspections in 13 years. The agency reported that over the previous academic year, it inspected more than 500 schools that had previously been excluded from routine inspection since they had been declared outstanding.

It has been reported that the exemption, which was implemented in 2012 and abolished in 2020, meant that schools that had been deemed excellent were legally exempt from additional routine inspection. The re-inspected schools had already undergone an Ofsted inspection more than 13 years ago.

Ofsted stated that only 17% of the 370 schools inspected maintained their outstanding grade after their re-inspections in the academic year of 2021-22.

Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector at Ofsted, stated that the findings showed that removing a school from inspection does not make it better. Furthermore, 62% of the formerly exempt schools now have a rating of good, while 21% still need to improve themselves or are deficient.

As reported by Ofsted, the schools' performances are concerning and a greater proportion currently require improvements. It claimed that their results are not up to the mark when compared to all the schools in the nation, particularly in the context of primary schools.

According to Spielman, routine inspections give parents assurance about the quality of their kid's school. Parents were deprived of the most recent information by exempting great schools. Additionally, it prevents many schools from receiving the helpful challenge that comes with a routine inspection.

Spielman added that the exemption was a policy that was based on the belief that once high standards were attained, it would never decline, and that the freedom of inspecting may motivate them to rise even higher. These results demonstrate that shielding a school from scrutiny does not improve it.

Ofsted has reported that all formerly exempt outstanding schools will be inspected by the end of July 2025.

Source credit: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/world-news/ofsted-downgrades-hundreds-outstanding-schools-25574005