Ofsted’s report cards replace single-word school grades
Families comparing neighbourhoods by school quality will no longer see new ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ headline grades for state schools in England.
Published 6 October 2026. Change took effect 10 November 2025. Each figure is linked to its source.
Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall judgements to schools in September 2024. From 10 November 2025 inspections have produced report cards that grade schools across several areas, on a scale running from ‘urgent improvement’ to ‘exceptional’. Tes, 2025
Older single-word grades remain on record, but they are no longer issued. For that reason our neighbourhood guides now describe schools as highly regarded and direct readers to each school’s latest report, rather than repeating ‘Ofsted Outstanding’ labels that may be years old. Independent schools are inspected separately, mainly by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.