How to read a school's Ofsted report card
By Danny Rose, qualified teacher (QTS) | 8 October 2026 | 4 min read
The short answer
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. Read the spread of grades, the inspectors' words under each one and the date of the inspection, then check what you read against what you see at an open evening.
What changed
Since November 2025, Ofsted has inspected schools under a new framework and publishes a report card instead of a single judgement like "good" or "outstanding". Each area of the school gets its own grade, and safeguarding is reported separately as met or not met.
The five grades, from highest to lowest, are:
- Exceptional: practice among the very best nationally.
- Strong standard: excellent, consistent work that makes a real difference for children.
- Expected standard: the school is doing everything it should. Ofsted describes this as a high standard, not a pass mark.
- Needs attention: work is needed to reach the expected standard.
- Urgent improvement: the lowest grade.
Why it matters for your decision
Parents take inspections seriously, and rightly so. Research from the Universities of Sussex and Exeter, published in October 2026, found that when a primary school's Ofsted rating went down, first choice applications fell by around 11%, and an upgrade lifted them by about 5%.
A report card rewards a slower read. Two schools with different grades can each be the right school for different children.
Three things I read first
- Safeguarding. It is either met or not met. If it is not met, ask the school directly what has changed since the inspection.
- The spread, not the single best or worst grade. Ofsted itself says a mix of grades is normal. Decide which areas matter most for your child: achievement if they need stretching, inclusion if they have additional needs, attendance and behaviour if they find busy corridors hard.
- The words under each grade, and the date. The description tells you what inspectors actually saw. A report from a couple of years ago may describe a school under different leadership.
Don't compare old and new grades
Ofsted advises parents not to compare the new grades with the old one word judgements, because they use a different approach. A school that was "good" before is not automatically "strong standard" now.
Questions worth asking at open evening
- What has changed since your last inspection?
- How do you support students who fall behind in maths or English?
- Who will be my child's first point of contact?
- What does a normal week of homework look like in Year 7?
Where to find a report card
Search for any school on Ofsted's reports website, reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Older reports are listed at the end of each school's page.
