ONE or two-word Ofsted inspection grades for schools in England are set to be scrapped immediately.

Overall grade categories of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate will no longer be issued.

The announcement follows engagement with the sector and family of headteacher Ruth Perry, after a coroner’s inquest found the Ofsted inspection process had contributed to her death.

Mrs Perry took her own life in 2023 after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest rating, “outstanding”, to its lowest rating, “inadequate”, over safeguarding concerns.

Ofsted will still inspect schools against the same standards, and reports will continue to give details on specific aspects of how a school is performing, as they do now.

Ms Perry's sister pleased with move from Ofsted

Mrs Perry's sister, Professor Waters, who has been campaigning for the one or two-word judgements to go, told BBC News the entire family were "delighted".

She described how the single word judgement had affected her sister's mental health.

"It was the main thing that preyed on her mind. She had a really bruising inspection that left her very fragile, and that word 'Inadequate', she went over and over it, writing it down," Professor Waters said of her sister.

"She'd just had the trauma of an unexpectedly bad Ofsted but she was still anticipating the public humiliation that would come with that."

What changes are being made to Ofsted?

Early next year, school improvement teams will be set up in every area, and the government said it would continue to intervene in struggling schools.

By September 2025, parents will be able to view a new "report card" describing what inspectors have found at a school.

For inspections this academic year, parents will see grades across the existing sub-categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

The Department for Education said single-phrase grades "fail to provide a fair and accurate assessment of overall school performance across a range of areas and are supported by a minority of parents and teachers".

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “The need for Ofsted reform to drive high and rising standards for all our children in every school is overwhelmingly clear.

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“The removal of headline grades is a generational reform and a landmark moment for children, parents and teachers.

“Single-headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools. Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing – that’s what our report cards will provide.

“This Government will make inspection a more powerful, more transparent tool for driving school improvement. We promised change and now we are delivering.”