Committee publication · Correspondence · 7 January 2025
Letter from His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Ofsted, on Annual Report 2023/24, dated 05.12.24
From: Education Committee
Inquiry: The work of the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted)
Summary
Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty's Chief Inspector, writes to the Education Committee chair to present Ofsted's Annual Report 2023/24. He highlights workforce pressures, attendance issues, and gaps in support for children with special educational needs, while outlining planned reforms including removal of overall effectiveness grades and introduction of new reporting frameworks across education and children's social care sectors.
Key findings
- Workforce pressures persist across education and children's social care, with particular challenges in matching supply to demand in social care
- School attendance remains a significant concern; many children with special educational needs and disabilities are not receiving timely support
- Ofsted is removing overall effectiveness grades and moving to more nuanced reporting, starting in education, with consultation on new report cards and inspection framework in early 2025
- Similar inspection changes for children's social care are planned for 2026
- Ofsted intends to develop 'area insights' that recognise provider context, highlight best practice, and identify system gaps
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Sir Martyn Oliver, Helen Hayes MP, Ofsted, Caroline Dulon HMI
Notable line
“There are no silver bullets to address these issues, but many of the problems can be mitigated through joined-up thinking and partnership working …”
Key Quotes
“Our report details workforce pressures across our sectors and the challenges of matching supply to demand – particularly in children's social care.”
“Attendance issues continue to be a significant concern in schools, and many children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not receiving the right support at the right time.”
“At Ofsted, we have a unique position overseeing all of the services that affect a child's life.”
“… following our Big Listen earlier this year, we have announced several changes to the way we work including the removal of overall effectiveness grades and moving to a more nuanced way of reporting across all of our sectors – starting in education.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗