Ofsted will inspect independent schools at the direction of the Department for Education (“DfE”) at least every three years as part of the “standard” cycle of inspections. However, where schools are judged as requiring improvement or inadequate, those will be re-inspected within two years.

The lead inspector will draft a report setting out the findings of the inspection and this will be sent to the provider within 18 working days after the end of the inspection. The final report will normally be sent to you within 30 working days of the end of the inspection (or longer if a complaint has been lodged)  If no complaint or factual inaccuracy check has been lodged, the report will be published on Ofsted’s website within 5 working days of the final report being sent to you.  You will usually receive correspondence by email.

For Ofsted inspection events that took place after 4 April 2024, an amended version of the complaints policy has been introduced, flowing directly from the Prevention of Future Death report as a consequence of the “Ruth Perry” inquest.

Ofsted expects that providers should raise concerns directly with the individual Ofsted inspectors involved at the time that the inspection is taking place. Senior leaders can telephone Ofsted during an inspection to speak with a senior inspector. In circumstances where there is a concern about the behaviour of an inspector with regards to safeguarding, Ofsted should be telephoned immediately.

If the concerns have not been resolved informally, the provider is required to lodge a complaint (either factual accuracy or formal complaint) within 5 working days of Ofsted sending the draft report.  You can raise minor points of factual inaccuracy or submit a formal complaint.

Ofsted will consider the minor points of factual inaccuracy or respond to the formal complaint before the report is finalised and published.

A final report should be received normally within 30 working days from the end of the inspection (or longer if there has been a formal complaint lodged).

Where a provider remains dissatisfied after the formal response to the complaint, provides can refer the complaint to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service of Ofsted (“ICASO”).

The ICASO is provided by an external organisation. It reviews Ofsted’s handling of the complaint and it cannot overturn Ofsted’s inspection or regulatory findings. You must refer any case to the ICASO within 3 months of the date of the formal complaint letter.

Beyond the ICASO, you can refer your concerns to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

The effectiveness of formal complaints are essential and early action is key to more positive outcomes.  We encourage you to seek specialist legal advice as soon as possible if you have concerns about Ofsted regulatory activity.

Ofsted can issue a Notice of Proposal for a range of different reasons including: to refuse registration of a service provider or a registered service manager (often referred to as an RSM), impose conditions on your registration, cancel a registration of a service or a registered service manager.

You usually have 28 days to respond to that Notice of Proposal by way of written Representation to Ofsted.

Ofsted is required to review this information and then will make a decision to either uphold your written Representation and withdraw the Notice of Proposal or proceed to issue a Notice of Decision.

You then normally have 28 days to appeal this decision to the Care Standards Tribunal.

If you have been refused registration at the Notice of Proposal stage, it may not be in your best interest to challenge the NoP through written Representation.  It may be a better course of action to withdraw your application (if you meet the criteria to do so) and re-apply, depending on the particular merits of your case.  This is keeping in mind the ongoing disqualification provisions that can apply if you are refused registration at the Notice of Decision stage.  It is vital to note that each case turns on its facts and so that is why early intervention and legal advice is essential to best protect your position and protect your commercial interests.

The SCIFF is the social care common inspection framework. It is guidance on how Ofsted will inspect social care services. There are various SCCIF handbooks for different types of Ofsted regulated provision such as: children’s homes, secure children’s homes, voluntary adoption agencies, residential family centres, residential holiday schemes for disabled children, residential provision in further education colleges, supported accommodation, boarding schools and residential special schools and independent fostering agencies etc.

The purpose of the SCCIF is give more consistency between Ofsted’s inspections of different services and to ensure that Ofsted applies the same judgement across the range of settings included within it.  Ofsted notes that the SCCIF is not a “one-size-fits-all” framework and where necessary the framework reflects and addresses the unique and distinct aspects of each setting it covers.  The evaluation criteria for the settings are however, wherever possible, consistent for uniformity on inspection ratings.

A LADO is a Local Authority Designated Officer. The LADO should be notified of all allegations where a person who works with children has behaved in a way that has harmed or may have harmed a child, where they have possibly committed a criminal offence against a child or have behaved towards a child in a way that indicates they pose a risk to children. The role of the LADO is to co-ordinate the allegations made against an individual who works with children and young people. They will provide advice and guidance to employers and organisations, liaise with the police and other agencies and monitor the progress of the case to ensure it is progressed as quickly as possible.

The importance of LADO involvement and appropriate notifications is reflected within the SCCIF frameworks, and Ofsted regulatory activity and judgements are understandably directly linked to judgements about effective safeguarding practices.

Supported accommodation provides accommodation with support for 16- and 17-year-old looked after children and care leavers, to enable them to live semi-independently.

You are a supported accommodation provider if you accommodate a child aged 16 or 17 years old who has been placed by a local authority under section 22C(6)(d) or 23B(8)(b) of the Children Act 1989.

This means you need to be registered as a supported accommodation provider with Ofsted if a local authority has either:

• Placed a looked after child in an ‘other arrangements’ placement, or
• Placed a care leaver in ‘suitable accommodation’

Since 28 April 2023, supported accommodation providers have been able to apply to Ofsted for registration.

If a provider has had its application accepted by Ofsted by 27 October 2023, it may legally operate beyond that date until the outcome of the application has been determined.

However, it is illegal for an unregistered supported accommodation provider to operate after 28 October 2023, if they have not submitted a complete application which has been accepted by Ofsted.  Ofsted can therefore take action under its unregistered provision policy against providers who are committing an offence by operating unregistered supported accommodation provision.

Ofsted has introduced a SCCIF handbook which covers the inspection activity for supported accommodation provision.  This can be found here.

Providers will be aware that most Ofsted inspections under the SCCIF follow the 4-point scale (outstanding, good, requires improvement to be good and inadequate) to make judgements.

For inspections of supported accommodation, Ofsted use a 3-outcome model.  Ofsted state that these outcomes reflect the complexity and diversity of supported accommodation.  The three outcomes are:

• Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action. The next inspection will be within approximately 3 years.
• Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences, and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements. The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

• Serious or widespread weaknesses lead to significant concerns about the experiences and progress of children. Leaders and managers must take urgent action to address failings. The next inspection will be within approximately 6 months.

Inspectors use the evaluation criteria as the benchmarks against which to grade and judge performance. The outcome, however, is not derived from a checklist. It is a professional evaluation to:

• assess whether the support for children is effective
• determine what impact that support is having on children’s experiences and progress

Failure to meet all the criteria will not automatically lead to a weaker outcome.

The headings for the evaluation criteria cover the usual domains, namely: “the overall experiences and progress of children”; “how well children are helped and protected”; and “the effectiveness of leaders and managers”.