• Find a school inspection report
• Understanding a school inspection report
• Types of school Ofsted inspects
• Inspecting schools
  • Inspecting maintained schools
  • Inspecting independent schools
  • Inspecting boarding and residential special schools
• About our survey reports
• How to complain

Inspecting independent schools

This page tells you what happens before, during and after an independent school inspection.

Before an inspection

The lead inspector tells your Headteacher that your school will be inspected up to two days before the Ofsted team arrives.

The inspection usually lasts two days and so during that time you will see people that you don’t know in the school.

Every parent and carer will receive a letter and a leaflet about the inspection. This includes a questionnaire, so parents and carers can tell us what they think about the school. Only Ofsted will get to read what your parent has written.

Most pupils will get a questionnaire to fill in and the inspector will also talk to pupils.

During an inspection

To find out about the school, the inspector will:

• watch lessons to see how teachers are teaching and what pupils are learning
• look at the school’s paperwork and pupils’ results for tests and exams 
• talk to staff and pupils, and others such as local authorities that have placed pupils at the school
• review what parents and carers have said
• and if your school provides boarding or residential facilities an inspector will come to check how well you are cared for.

After an inspection

The lead inspector writes a report using what inspectors have found out about the school.

The report will tell people all about the school. The inspector makes a judgement about how good an aspect of the school’s work is and these judgement are in the report.

The inspector sends the report to the school.

The school has to send parents and carers a copy of the report.

We publish the report on our website in most cases within four working weeks of the end of the inspection.