Ofsted

Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. They inspect and regulate services that care for children and young people, and services providing education and skills for learners of all ages.

In order to legally open, the Secretary of State must decide whether or not your free school, when open, is likely to meet the relevant Independent Schools Standards outlined below. The Ofsted pre-registration inspection informs this decision.

The pre-registration inspection is not like a full inspection, which we will be subject to once open. Instead, it seeks to establish whether the proposed school is fit to open as measured against the standards outlined.

Once opened, schools are inspected under the same arrangements as maintained schools. The first full inspection of a free school normally takes place during the third year of opening.

Ofsted inspectors will spend less time looking at exam results and test data, and more time considering how a school has achieved their results. That is, whether they are the outcome of a broad, rich curriculum and real learning.

Please see here the Pre Registration Advice Note