Corporate report

Ofsted Board minutes:  24 June 2026

Updated 30 September 2026

Applies to England

Present

Dame Christine Gilbert (Ofsted Board Chair)

Jo Coburn

Felicity Gillespie

Lucy Heller

Jo Moran

Sir Martyn Oliver (HMCI)

Martin Spencer

Frances Wadsworth

Sir Alan Wood

Baroness Laura Wyld

Jon Yates

Apologies 

David Meyer 

Executive attendance     

Louise Grainger (Chief Financial and Operating Officer)  

Neil Greenwood (National Director, Delivery and Operations)  

Rory Gribbell (Director, Strategy and Engagement) 

Lee Owston (National Director, Education)  

Yvette Stanley (National Director, Regulation and Social Care) 

Principal Private Secretary to HMCI, Head of Private Office 

Department for Education Observer     

Alex Marsh (Director, Schools Systems, Academies & Reform, Department for Education) (items 1 to 9) deputising for Julia Kinniburgh (Director General for Schools Group)

Executive support     

Board Secretary 

Status

Approved at the board meeting on 23 September 2026.

1. Welcome, apologies, and declarations of interest  

The chair opened the meeting and noted apologies from David Meyer. The board confirmed there were no new declarations of interest.

2. Agree minutes, consider matters arising and action tracker  

The minutes of the last meeting were approved as a correct record.

The chair welcomed back the Board Secretary and referenced the Corporate Strategy Coordinator who would be supporting her in that role, and whom the board would soon get to know. The chair thanked His Majesty’s Chief Inspector’s (HMCI) Principal Private Secretary for the intensive support she had been giving the board over recent months.

The chair raised the open actions from the action tracker. The board agreed to close the actions in the tracker labelled as ‘propose to close’.

3. HMCI update

HMCI indicated that it was likely the September board meeting would be held in Ofsted’s new central London base. Further details would follow.

HMCI provided the board with a review of progress against his annual strategic objectives. HMCI noted the progress made by the board on developing a draft strategy. The board noted that once the strategy is agreed, HMCI and the chair will update the strategic objectives for 2026 to 2027 which reflect both the themes of Ofsted’s strategy and the operating plan. These will then be presented to the board for their agreement in September.

The board noted that HMCI would work with the SCS to ensure that their objectives reflect the key themes of the strategy, as will those of colleagues across the organisation. The chair clarified that the new draft strategy reflects Ofsted’s core activity and values, and thus HMCI confirmed that colleagues have not delayed setting their objectives for 2026 to 2027 until the strategy is agreed.

HMCI informed the board that the draft framework agreement between Ofsted and the Department for Education (DfE), discussed at the September and December meetings, had been approved by His Majesty’s Treasury.

Key updates included the changes to education inspection toolkits to reflect updated guidance from the DfE in key areas, including safer sleeping and eating practices in early years, and mobile phone policies in schools. These updates were published in June and will take effect from September. The board noted the plans for training in place to support inspectors in implementing these changes.

HMCI updated the board on work with the DfE to develop a ‘similar schools’ model for attainment to help understand how well pupils in one school are achieving compared to schools with a similar context. The board noted that the data will sit alongside the existing data in the inspection data summary reports (IDSR), which inspectors consider in preparation for an inspection. Alex Marsh advised that the DfE will continue to work closely with Ofsted to ensure alignment on how similar schools data is shared with schools.

Lee Owston (National Director, Education) updated the board on the forthcoming publication of renewed inspection materials for education, skills and work activities in prisons and young offender institutions (YOI) following the recent conclusion of the statutory consultation on proposed changes. The board welcomed these changes and sought assurance that this would address the poor access to education prevalent in many YOI settings. HMCI emphasised that these concerns, as well as others outlined in HMCI’s October 2024 joint report with His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMIP) on systemic shortcomings that fail children, would be addressed in the inclusion evaluation area. The board further discussed how Ofsted will address systemic leadership failings in some secure settings through this new framework and continued collaboration with HMIP.

HMCI and Yvette Stanley (National Director, Regulation and Social Care) further updated the board on progress on reforms of Inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS), as well as action by Ofsted to address concerns about unregistered children’s homes. HMCI reiterated his ambition to further prioritise registration of children’s homes based on need, building on the revised policy for prioritising children’s homes applications published in September 2025. The board welcomed this as an important step to address the insufficiency of suitable placements in some regions and address the use of illegal children’s homes, which put vulnerable children at risk of harm. The board discussed the legal considerations of further prioritisation and noted HMCI’s ongoing engagement with the Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing on this issue.

The board discussed the Welfare Requirements Notice (WRN) issued by Ofsted to nursery group Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited on 22 July 2026. HMCI updated the board on the actions contained within the WRN. The board noted that the provider had been given a deadline of 1 August 2026 to implement several actions to demonstrate that it can ensure safeguarding is consistently effective across its provision.

The board asked HMCI about the extent to which the recent weather warning for extreme heat had impacted delivery of school inspections against plans for this period. HMCI updated the board that the disruption to the planned inspections had been limited. HMCI advised that inspectors were mindful of the impact of the heat on schools, and that it was a factor affecting a small number of deferrals of inspections.

4. Finance update

Louise Grainger (Chief Financial and Operating Officer) provided an update on the current forecast against the full-year budget and the factors affecting this.

The board discussed the impact of the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance, published in May, and noted that further work was underway to deliver this within Ofsted’s agreed spending settlement with His Majesty’s Treasury.

The board noted the ongoing engagement with the trade union side on the pay award and internal communications with Ofsted staff. The board asked that they be kept updated on the outcomes of this engagement.

The board discussed the ongoing recruitment of inspectors.

5. Update from Audit Risk and Assurance Committee (ARAC)

The chair of the ARAC, Martin Spencer, updated the board on activity at the 19 June ARAC meeting. The board noted that ARAC had reviewed and approved changes to Ofsted’s scheme of delegation.

The board discussed the provision for business continuity planning in the document. The board chair requested that an overarching business continuity plan be developed and shared with the board. The plan will include an outline of the risks from potential or unexpected events or threats, and how Ofsted would continue to operate while addressing or recovering from them.

The board scrutinised and approved the annual report prepared by the ARAC on its activities and findings over the year 2025 to 2026 and approved the report.

The board noted that the Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) is on track to be published and laid in Parliament on 14 July 2026. The board noted engagement by the ARAC and the board chair throughout the drafting of the ARA, and how their feedback has been addressed. The ARAC chair shared ARAC’s advice that the board recommend that HMCI approve the ARA, which the board supported, pending the implementation of changes to the draft agreed at the 19 June ARAC meeting.

Decision: the board agreed the 2025 to 2026 Annual Report and Accounts, subject to minor drafting amendments.

Rory Gribbell (Director of Strategy and Engagement) and the ARAC chair updated the board on the discussion of the strategic risk register at the 19 June meeting. The board scrutinised the risk tolerance levels set by the ARAC and approved these, with an agreement to review 2 at the next board meeting.

6. Big Listen action monitoring report update

The board received an update from Rory Gribbell. The board was asked to consider the ninth Big Listen action monitoring report and approve it for publication. The board noted that 108/132 actions had now been completed, with 7 further actions completed since the last update, 4 of which are linked to the Royal Assent of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act.

Decision: The board approved the draft Big Listen action monitoring report for publication.

7. Early Years Reform

The board welcomed the announcement of additional funding of over £8 million to expand Ofsted’s regulatory work in Early Years settings. Jon Yates noted the significance of the budget change and the significant mitigation of a strategic risk. It is helpful for board members to be aware of such changes as soon as possible.

The board received an update from Yvette Stanley on Ofsted’s plans to deliver 3,000 additional unannounced visits a year and conduct more face-to-face interviews with newly registered providers to better identify risks early and act quickly.

Yvette Stanley and Neil Greenwood (National Director, Delivery and Operations)  updated the board on work to review and improve the end-to-end regulation process and strengthen systems managed by the Applications Regulatory and Contact Team. The board discussed ongoing work to develop a new digital case management system, which will strengthen risk assessment by highlighting patterns of concern. This work will be accelerated by this additional funding.

The chair reminded the board of the interest shown previously in a development session looking in detail at a real Ofsted case study through time, as suggested previously by Alan Wood. This would be organised for September.

8. Safeguarding Group update

Yvette Stanley updated the board on the key activities and current priorities of the Safeguarding Group. The board noted ongoing work on revising the terms of reference, and the engagement with Alan Wood on the drafting of the role of the board representative on the group. A final proposal would come to the September meeting.

The board noted the work of the learning review oversight group and discussed how progress on actions was tracked, and how these could be reported to the board for future meetings. More generally, work on a safeguarding dashboard would be considered as part of a suite of dashboards being prepared across Ofsted for September. The design of a revised learning review tracker could be considered at the same time but should be ready for the September board meeting.

9. Complaints

The board received an update from the chair on progress in developing a new independent complaint review service to be piloted for school inspections. The chair reminded the board that the feedback received from the sector, as exemplified in the Big Listen, was the key driver for this improvement work. The chair noted steps already taken in the 2024 revised policy to address concerns and improve the complaints process, including resolving issues during inspections to prevent the need for some complaints. The chair reflected on the positive impact of these improvements but stated that more work was needed to increase confidence and trust in Ofsted, and that offering an additional element of external, independent scrutiny of how complaints were handled should support this ambition.

Following Neil Greenwood’s introduction, the board discussed the plans to pilot a new Independent Complaints Service. The board discussed the risks and benefits associated with the proposed options. The board noted the estimated costings and scope of a proposed pilot and noted that it would be subject to review throughout the pilot period. The board noted that more work was needed to develop the details of some proposals prior to launching a pilot. The board discussed next steps regarding communications planning, stakeholder engagement and further legal considerations. The board noted that engagement with DfE on developing this work would be ongoing.

Decision: Noting the further work needed, the board agreed to support the proposals for a new independent complaint review service for school inspections, and HMCI reconfirmed his support.

10. Ofsted strategy 2026 to 2031

The chair thanked the board for their extensive work on the 2026 to 2031 draft Ofsted strategy, and updated board members on how their feedback had been incorporated into the draft.

The board noted that the draft strategy would be subject to minor change following engagement with Ofsted’s Executive Committee on 7 July and consideration of Ofsted’s Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). The board approved the draft strategy, with authority given to the chair to make minor amendments.

Decision: The board approved the strategy, subject to the consideration of the PSED and minor changes, as agreed with the chair, following discussion with the Executive Committee.

The board discussed the next steps of developing metrics and indicators to report on progress against the strategy. The board agreed to set up a small task-and-finish group of board members, supported by the strategy delivery unit and research and insights, and collaboration with other directors. The chair will bring back proposals to September’s meeting that enable the board to monitor and evaluate the strategy’s progress, keep under review the core areas of regulation, inspection, and people, and demonstrate that the board has discharged the PSED in a proportionate way in relation to the strategy.

11. Chair and board member update

The chair thanked Felicity Gillespie for her excellent contribution to the board. She would be much missed.

She congratulated both Jo Moran and Jon Yates on their reappointment to the board for a second term.

The chair and the board congratulated Jon Yates on his recent CBE awarded in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

12. Review of actions agreed at this meeting

The board agreed the summary of actions.

13. Any other business

There was no other business.