Ofsted will roll out a new-look set of report cards for England’s schools from November. The cards will use a colour-coded five-point scale to rate areas such as attendance, behaviour and inclusion, and the grades will be urgent improvement, needs attention, expected standard, strong standard and exceptional. The aim is to give parents more detail and a clearer picture of how a school performs.

Inspectors will assess multiple areas, with inclusion given a dedicated grade. An extra inspector will be added to school inspections to help address workload and promote teacher wellbeing. In the early years, inspection frequency will move from every six years to every four, and every inspection will focus on provision for disadvantaged pupils, those with special educational needs or disabilities, and children known to social care.

Inspections will start in the second week of November, with no checks in the last week before Christmas. The move follows a period of reform after the old four-judgement system was scrapped last year. Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, said the changes aim to give parents clearer information while maintaining rigorous scrutiny. An independent report by Sinead McBrearty and a learning review by Dame Christine Gilbert were commissioned to learn lessons from past events surrounding the sector.