• Find a school inspection report
• Understanding a school inspection report
• Types of school Ofsted inspects
• Inspecting schools
  • Inspecting maintained schools
  • Inspecting independent schools
    • Before an independent school inspection
      • Preparing for an independent school inspection
    • During an independent school inspection
    • After an independent school inspection
    • Main inspection documents for inspectors
  • Inspecting boarding and residential special schools
  • Inspecting initial teacher education
• Safeguarding children
• About our survey reports
• How to complain

Before an independent school inspection

Independent schools are usually given two clear days notice of their inspection. Notification is made by one of Ofsted’s inspection service providers which carry out inspections on behalf of Ofsted.

The lead inspector contacts the school usually within 24 hours of the inspection being announced, to discuss the inspection process and begin to plan the inspection. The school is asked to provide the inspectors with some information that they keep, for example an evaluation of their provision, before the inspection begins.

The inspector’s contact and other pre-inspection activities aim to make the inspection run smoothly and effectively with minimum demand on the school.

On the day before the inspection, the lead inspector has a planning day. With the agreement of the headteacher, the lead inspector may spend part of their planning day at the school carrying our pre-inspection activities.

Pre-inspection activities include:

• establishing good communication and an effective working relationship with the school
• encouraging staff to understand the judgements made by the inspection
• analysing and discussing the information provided by the school and other pre-inspection evidence
• identifying and discussing the issues that the inspection should cover
• agreeing the arrangements for the inspection, including times for feedback to the headteacher and proprietor.

Examples of pre-inspection evidence that inspectors will use include:

• the report from the previous inspection
• reports from any subject or aspect surveys that we have carried out in the school
• reports from any progress monitoring inspections that we have carried out in the school
• information from any upheld complaints made by parents to us about the school
• any additional information the school wishes to bring to the inspectors’ attention.

Before the inspection, the inspectors also gather the views of the school’s pupils, their parents and carers, and school staff through surveys. A survey will be sent to the local authority as well if it has placed a child in the school. For further information on this, please go to the Preparing for an independent school inspection page. The responses to these surveys form part of the pre-inspection evidence considered by inspectors.

Inspectors trained in social care or with expertise in early years education and care read separate evidence for those schools that are boarding schools and residential special schools and those that provide learning for children aged 0–5.