Ofsted has published its 2024/25 report analysing developments across education, children’s social care and skills. The report highlights a 15% rise in registered children’s homes in England—now over 4,000, the highest on record—but warns this growth conceals serious problems with location, affordability and suitability. It notes that homes are concentrated in cheaper housing areas, suggesting profit motives that distort the system, while a shortage of specialist placements has driven a shadow market of unregistered homes, with nearly 900 investigations launched this year. Despite transformative work across education and care, outcomes for children growing up in care remain far poorer than peers, and His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, calls for urgent action to ensure vulnerable children receive loving, stable homes.

The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) has published an Easy Read version of its area special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) framework inspection findings report. The new document, titled 'Checking SEND services for children and young people – what we found out,' presents the findings from the first two years of inspections in an accessible format. The 27-page document aims to make the inspection framework findings more accessible to a wider audience.

Ofsted has published guidance, developed with the Care Quality Commission, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and HM Inspectorate of Probation, for a new round of joint targeted area inspections (JTAIs) beginning in autumn 2026. The inspections will assess how children’s social care, the police, probation services and relevant health services in England work together to identify, assess, support and protect unborn children and children aged up to 11 who are at risk of or living with neglect. Inspectors will also examine how local agencies work with education and early years providers and the voluntary and community sector, how effectively family networks are involved and supported, and the effectiveness of local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. The guidance sets out the scope, evaluation criteria and process for the inspections. The inspection programme reflects concerns that neglect can be complex, cumulative and difficult to identify, with potentially lasting effects in the earliest years of a child’s life.

Ofsted has published an independent report examining how stakeholders can share their views during education inspections, conducted by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT). The research focused on developing an understanding of how Ofsted and providers could increase engagement for all stakeholders, including children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and socioeconomic disadvantages. The study heard from over 3,500 people across early years, schools and further education settings, combining in-depth qualitative research, quantitative survey data collection and cognitive testing. Ofsted states the commission has helped make evidence-informed improvements to inspection surveys, methodology and inspector training, and that BIT's recommendations will be considered as part of its ongoing reform programme.

Ofsted has published a policy paper on its approach to artificial intelligence (AI) and its use by education and social care providers. Ofsted has noted that areas which can benefit the most from AI are assessing risk, making processes more efficient through automation and making best use of Ofsted’s data to generate new insights. Ofsted has said that it aims to continue to increase understanding of AI, by keeping up to date with relevant research and learning from providers’ experiences of AI.

Ofsted has published a renewed education inspection framework overview of research, setting out the evidence underpinning the revised education inspection framework (EIF) and explaining how research on educational effectiveness has informed its development. The overview places particular emphasis on a strengthened focus on inclusion, including meeting the needs of disadvantaged children and learners, those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as well as those who face other barriers to learning or wellbeing. Ofsted states that the overview is not intended to prescribe particular approaches for providers, but rather to summarise the research directly linked to the framework’s evaluation areas. It covers leadership and governance, safeguarding, inclusion, curriculum and teaching, achievement, attendance and behaviour, and personal development and wellbeing.

Ofsted has published a report examining how mainstream schools and colleges support the academic progress and personal development of children in local authority care. The report, based on research conducted during the 2024/25 academic year, highlights effective practice, identifies barriers to progress and considers the implications for education inspection and improvement. It notes inconsistencies in local authority practice, unclear national expectations and a lack of staff training. Key findings include a ‘lottery’ effect, whereby access to resources and virtual school provision depends on the local authority under which a child was placed, and instances where personal education plan (PEP) meetings are not held beyond age 16, reducing oversight and support for older learners. The report recommends: (1) ongoing specialist training for school and college staff; (2) a standardised national approach to PEP formats, funding approvals and virtual school provision; (3) improved collaboration between education providers and local authorities through shared protocols and expectations; (4) enhanced support from local authorities for care-experienced young people beyond age 16 and (5) additional support for colleges, including mentoring, emotional support and academic assistance. The research also informed Ofsted’s renewed education inspection framework, introduced in November 2025.

The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) has published a report highlighting gaps in the support provided to homeless children aged 16 and 17 by local authorities. The report reveals that only 9% of surveyed homeless children and young people were offered an advocate to help them understand their rights, despite statutory guidance recommending access to independent advocacy. Many local authorities are not admitting children into care when necessary, often using inappropriate accommodations like bed and breakfasts.

Ofsted has published a subject report focussing on the quality of how English is taught in primary and secondary schools in England. The report finds that the teaching of reading in schools has improved significantly since the introduction of the phonics screening check, however, the curriculums for written and spoken language need more improvement. The report made several recommendations, among which are making sure the national curriculum requirements for spoken language are translated into practice so pupils can learn to be competent speakers, encouraging pupils to read a wide range of books, helping pupils who enter key stages 2 and 3 unable to read fluently to catch up quickly and ensuring that statutory tests and exam do not disproportionately influence decisions about curriculum and pedagogy.

Ofsted has released two significant reports addressing multi-agency responses to serious youth violence affecting children and families in England. The first report, commissioned by Ofsted and produced by Safer London, provides insights into children's and families' experiences of multi-agency support when impacted by serious youth violence. The second report, a collaborative effort by Ofsted, Care Quality Commission (CQC), HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and HM Inspectorate of Probation, presents findings from six Joint Targeted Area Inspections (JTAIs) conducted between September 2023 and May 2024. This latter report examines how local partnerships and services, including children's social care, health services, youth justice services, schools and police, respond to and support children affected by serious youth violence. Both reports aim to inform and improve multi-agency approaches to addressing this critical issue.

Ofsted has published updates to its state-funded school inspection handbooks as well as its deferral, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy, ahead of routine school inspections returning on 23 September 2024. State-funded schools will not receive an overall effectiveness grade during graded inspections and the handbook has been updated to reflect the changes to ungraded inspections to help ease the burden on school leaders. There has also been changes to how Ofsted notifies schools of inspections. Further updates include a change to allow schools which have issues with safeguarding, but no other concerns, to resolve the issues before the report is published.

Ofsted has published a report highlighting local authorities’ (LA) struggle to finding stable homes for children with complex needs. The report, titled ‘How local authorities and children’s homes can achieve stability and permanence for children with complex needs’ looks at complex needs and barriers to supporting them, and how LAs, homes and other agencies are working to achieve stability for children with complex needs. The report saw that more than 90% of LAs struggle to find homes for children with complex needs, and Ofsted has noted that this risks leaving the children in homes with high numbers of staff where there are isolated and exposed to mistreatment. HM Chief Inspector of education, children’s services and skills, Sir Martyn Oliver, has expressed concern over the impact of shortage of ‘secure and therapeutic homes’ on children’s stability.