Earwig and Ofsted

How to make sure that your staff are always ‘Ofsted ready’.

If you are teacher in a maintained school in England or Wales you carry with you the knowledge that, at some point, you are going to have your work performance examined, measured and reported on, by a stranger - and the conclusion widely publicised. That's pressure, but it doesn't need to be.

The Earwig Impact on Ofsted Inspections

We could bore you with dozens of testimonials from Headteachers who have just gone through an Ofsted and are keen to tell us how helpful Earwig was.Instead, here are just three.

If you’d like to get the gen directly from the head at a school near you, just request a demo and we’ll set up a conversation for you, as part of that.

Beacon Hill School - Essex

Yes, we were outstanding again!

We used Earwig to show the pupil evidence to match the curriculum areas that they looked at as part of the deep dive.

They were impressed with the pupil work evidence, particularly where we had uploaded videos for some of our more complex children.

If we had been given a target, we would have asked to look at personalising our use of Earwig even further, but if you are Outstanding you don't get a target!

Sue Hewitt
Headteacher

What the DFE thinks of Earwig

What does Ofsted think of Earwig?

It’s ironic that, while the DfE is adding to the admin load for SEND teachers, Ofsted, with the new Inspection Framework, has added this extra question for school Headteachers – ‘What are you doing to reduce teacher workload and stress?’

Ofsted are specifically forbidden from commenting on school software but we do know directly from the Heads at many recently inspected Earwig schools, that they are always impressed. If you want more detail on that, check out the Earwig blog. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and we are proud to boast that, in the eleven years that Earwig has been used in special schools, only one school has ever been downgraded (and that was 'special circumstances') while several have been elevated.
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This is spite of the fact that most Earwig clients are Outstanding and, in the two years 2019-21, only 17% of Outstanding schools inspected retained their top ranking.

How Earwig supports schools under the updated 2025 Ofsted Inspection Framework

From November 2025, Ofsted is introducing significant changes to how schools are inspected and evaluated in England. For SEND schools, alternative provisions, and specialist settings, these reforms bring new opportunities to showcase expertise — but also new expectations around evidence, progress tracking and inclusion.

Earwig has reviewed the updated framework closely. Below, we outline key extracts from the new inspection principles and show how Earwig can help schools, trusts and SENCOs meet — and demonstrate — the new standards with clarity and confidence.

Curriculum

What the updated framework emphasises

Schools must provide an ambitious, inclusive curriculum that supports all learners — particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND or high needs — to develop the essential knowledge, skills, and cultural capital they need for life. Inspectors will also evaluate how well curriculum pathways meet individual needs within the new Inclusion judgement.

How Earwig supports you

Flexible, tailored curriculum frameworks: Earwig allows you to select or build assessment frameworks that align with your curriculum intent and support diverse cohorts, including SEND, disadvantaged, and high needs pupils.

Coherent sequencing in one place: Custom frameworks can be mapped and sequenced within Earwig so that subject leaders and inspectors can clearly see how knowledge and skills build over time.

Ambitious personalised targets: Editable, individualised EHCP-linked frameworks support ambitious academic, developmental, technical, or vocational targets — essential evidence under the new 5-point scale and Inclusion judgement.

Breadth of study: With access to a wide range of frameworks, schools can demonstrate that learners continue to access a broad and balanced curriculum for as long as is appropriate.

Implementation

What the updated framework emphasises

Inspectors will continue to evaluate how well teaching enables all learners to understand, retain, and build knowledge over time. Under the new report card structure, areas such as teaching quality, subject leadership, and adaptation for SEND pupils will be judged more granularly — with earlier monitoring where performance falls below “Expected Standard.”

How Earwig supports you

Subject knowledge and leadership oversight: Developmental timelines give subject leaders clear, longitudinal insights into teaching, coverage, and learner progress across the whole setting.

Effective pedagogy and feedback: Evidence records organised into pupil-centred timelines allow staff to monitor progress, check understanding over time, and reflect on teaching practice with accuracy and clarity.

Long-term learning and memory: Bespoke grading schemes allow settings to track small-step progress in a way that is meaningful, developmentally appropriate, and fully aligned with SEND practice.

Consistency across staff teams: As inspector interpretation of “Inclusion” may vary, using a unified evidence system like Earwig ensures consistency, transparency, and fairness across all classes, therapists and provisions.

Opportunities within the 2025 reforms

The updated inspection model is designed to give a richer picture of school life. For specialist settings, this means strengths can finally be recognised in detail.

Recognition of SEND expertise: A dedicated Inclusion judgement highlights the specialist skills of teachers, therapists, and multi-disciplinary teams.

More nuanced feedback: Schools can receive credit for strong areas even if others need development, instead of being reduced to a single headline grade.

Showcasing progress beyond academics: Earwig makes therapy outcomes, communication development, life-skills progress and bespoke EHCP targets visible in ways traditional attainment data cannot.

Earlier, constructive support: With more frequent monitoring when needed, schools can demonstrate improvement using clear, trackable evidence stored centrally.

Challenges — and how Earwig helps you meet them

While the reforms are positive, they also bring new responsibilities.

Variability in inspection: Clear, consistent evidence in Earwig helps minimise the impact of subjective differences between inspectors.

Academic vs. bespoke benchmarks: Earwig bridges this gap by tracking EHCP-driven goals, engagement, therapy progress and communication steps alongside academic pathways.

Staff workload: A single shared evidence base reduces duplication, easing the pressure of more regular inspections.

External agency dependencies: SEND settings often rely on local authority, NHS, and external professionals. Earwig enables you to document these dependencies clearly so inspectors understand context and provision.