Where to find inspection reports for schools in London

Inspection reports for schools in London

You can find the inspection reports for any London school on one of these two websites:

• Ofsted inspects all State schools, and some Private schools.
• ISI (Independent School Inspectorate) inspects the remaining private schools.

Ofsted reports:

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report

ISI reports:

https://www.isi.net/

Another source of information is the school’s own website. They all publish their latest inspection report.

What you will find in an Ofsted report

Ofsted inspection reports are quite lengthy, and you will find a lot of elements in them, which can be overwhelming!

You will find below the elements we always look at when reading an Ofsted inspection report:

1. Total number of pupils

This tells you how many children are at the school.

2. Description of the school

Here you can read about the socio-economic and cultural mix at the school.

3. Inspection judgements

When inspected, the school is given an overall rating: Outstanding, Good,  Requires Improvement or Inadequate.

Then you can see the judgment broken down into:

• Quality of education
• Behaviour and attitudes
• Personal development of pupils
• Leadership and management (of the school)

4. What the school needs to do to improve

Reading this gives you an insight into the school’s shortcomings, and you’ll need to decide what you can overlook and what is too important to ignore.

What you will find in an ISI report

The ISI reports are very similar to the Ofsted reports. They are structured similarly, and are also very lengthy!

You will find below the elements we always look at when reading an Ofsted inspection report:

1. About the pupils:

You can read about the socio-economic and cultural mix at the school.

2. Key findings:

A summary of the inspection, and whether any recommendations are made.

3. Inspection judgements

When inspected, the school is given an overall rating: Excellent, Good, Sound, Unsatisfactory.

Then you can see the judgment broken down into:

• Quality of education provided:
  • Achievements of pupils
  • Personal development of pupils

• Spiritual, moral , cultural and social development
• Welfare, health and safety / Suitability of staff / Premise and accommodation
• Provision of information / Manner in which complaints are handled / Quality of leadership and management

4. Key action point / Recommendation

Reading this gives you an insight into the school’s shortcomings, and you’ll need to decide what you can overlook and what is too important to ignore.

Article published 15th August 2022