Ofsted publishes Big Listen action monitoring report and announces trials of new inspection approach

• Forty-two out of 132 pledges completed so far, with good progress made on remaining actions    
• Trials of new inspection approach to begin week of 6 January    
• Consultation on renewed education inspection framework to open later in January    

Ofsted has today published the first monitoring report on 132 commitments made in the Big Listen and the response to Dame Christine Gilbert’s independent learning review.  

The monitoring report sets out all the improvement actions that Ofsted has completed to date and provides an update on those not yet completed. It shows that just under a third (42) of the actions have been completed so far, with work to deliver the others progressing as planned.

Ofsted has also today announced that it will begin trials of a new approach to education inspection in the first week of the new term, with visits to a small number of volunteer schools. These visits will informally test elements of the proposed inspection framework, which Ofsted will publish for consultation later in January.

Later in the term, and in parallel with the consultation, Ofsted will formally pilot the new approach in schools as well as other education settings, including early years providers, non-associated independent schools, further education and skills providers, and Initial Teacher Education providers. These pilots will help to refine and improve Ofsted’s proposals.

Following consultation, and any changes to the proposed approach, Ofsted will run further pilot inspections of a range of volunteer providers to test the final model. At the same time, a series of events will be held to inform and support education professionals.

Ofsted Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, said:

“Our response to the Big Listen set out our determination to retain the confidence of children, their parents and carers, and to earn back the trust of the dedicated professionals working hard to improve children’s life chances.

“I’m pleased to now be publishing this first monitoring report, which describes all the work we are doing to improve our culture and practices. I hope that it shows that we are willing to listen, accept challenge, and take action where it’s needed.

“I am also delighted that the work to trial our new inspection approach begins in early January. Feedback from these trials, and from our soon-to-be-launched consultation, will shape and improve our proposals.”

In her independent learning review, published in September, Dame Christine Gilbert recommended that Ofsted should produce a ‘single, overarching improvement and development plan’, detailing all the initiatives and actions arising from the Coroner and Education Select Committee’s reports. Ofsted fully accepted this recommendation and the response to the Big Listen provided that top-level plan, setting out a total of 132 actions that aimed to achieve three core objectives:

1. To reset relationships with those Ofsted regulates and inspects, working collaboratively to put children and learners first
2. To foster a culture of integrity in which Ofsted always treats people with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect
3. To be a learning organisation that operates transparently, listens to challenge and takes action to change

In the response to Dame Christine’s Review, Ofsted also agreed to publish regular monitoring reports, to provide transparency about the progress made towards achieving these objectives. Today’s report is the first in a series that will continue until all the actions have been completed.