Schools badly impacted by Covid can ask to defer inspections
Ofsted will encourage early years settings, schools and colleges that are significantly impacted by COVID-related staff absence to ask for their inspection to be deferred.
This is part of temporary measures to protect face-to-face education and minimise disruption, ahead of the pupils returning to the classroom this week.
What's more, Ofsted will not ask inspectors who are also school, college and early years leaders to undertake inspections, so they can focus on their leadership responsibilities at this critical time. This will be a temporary measure from the start of January.
Ofsted has already confirmed that it will not be inspecting secondary schools during the first week of term in January, as schools undertake on-site pupil testing.
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