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Introduction

1. Ofsted inspects in the interests of children and learners. When an inspection or visit is scheduled, it should take place unless there are exceptional circumstances. We acknowledge, however, that there will be times where an inspection/visit cannot go ahead or needs to be paused; when it is incomplete and/or when we need to gather additional evidence. This policy sets out how and when those decisions are made and provides information on the decision-making and oversight of such decisions within Ofsted.

2. Deferring an inspection refers to an inspection or visit being rescheduled because it cannot go ahead on the planned dates. This usually happens during the notification process, and in most cases will be before inspectors arrive on site, or at the first opportunity after inspectors arrive where providers have no notice of the inspection.

3. Pausing an inspection refers to when an inspection or visit that has already started is paused (and so inspectors will leave if they are on site) and will resume at a date or time beyond the originally scheduled inspection days. A paused inspection can become an incomplete inspection if the pause goes on beyond the time specified in this section.

4. The Gathering additional evidence protocol applies to:

• an inspection that is found to be incomplete after the on-site activity has ended: this includes when our quality assurance or complaints processes identify that further inspection activity is required to ensure that the evidence and judgements reached are secure

• an inspection that has been paused for a period beyond the timeframes set out in the annex to this guidance

• an inspection that has been suspended in order to allow a school to resolve issues with safeguarding

It ceases to apply when the final version of the report has been sent to the provider and/or the Secretary of State.

Application

5. This policy applies to inspections/visits for the following providers where Ofsted inspects provisions regulated by the Department for Education (DfE). Our pausing policy only applies to Ofsteds work in England and there may be different arrangements for any inspection work outside England:

• maintained schools and academies (and other types of schools inspected under sections 5 and 8 of theEducation Act 2005)

• independent schools inspected by Ofsted (under sections 109(1) and (2) ofthe Education and Skills Act 2008and under section 162(4) ofthe Education Act 2002)

• providers of initial teacher education (ITE) under section 18B of theEducation Act 1994and part 8 of theEducation and Inspections Act 2006

• early career framework (ECF) and national professional qualifications (NPQ) lead providers under part 8 of theEducation and Inspections Act 2006

• providers of further education and skills under part 8 of theEducation and Inspections Act 2006

6. The policy also applies to the following providers where Ofsted inspects under the Children Act 2004 and where Ofsted is the regulator:

• early years and childcare provision under sections 49, 60 and 77(2)(b) of theChildcare Act 2006

• childminder agencies under sections 51D and 61E of theChildcare Act 2006

• residential special schools, some boarding schools, and residential provision for 16- and 17-year-olds in further education colleges and independent specialist colleges (under section 87 of theChildren Act 1989)

• local authority childrens services (ILACS) and secure training centres (under theEducation and Inspections Act 2006)

• local areas, inspected as part of our joint targeted area inspections (JTAIs) carried out under section 20 of theChildren Act 2004

• area special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) services for children and young people under section 20 of theChildren Act 2004

• childrens homes, including secure childrens homes, adoption support agencies, voluntary adoption agencies, independent fostering agencies, residential family centres, supported accommodation and residential holiday schemes for disabled children (under theCare Standards Act 2000)

• inspections of Cafcass (including focused and monitoring visits) (under the Education and Inspections Act 2006)

Part 1: Deferrals

7. Ofsted puts the interest of children and learners first. It is only in exceptional circumstances that we would consider granting a deferral. A provider requesting a deferral will need to evidence the reasons for their request.

Circumstances for deferring Ofsted inspections and visits

8. There are a limited number of circumstances when we may decide to defer an inspection or visit. The examples below show where we could potentially grant a deferral, but do not provide automatic grounds for a deferral, and are not exhaustive. We will consider each case separately and on its own merits, including (where applicable) consideration of whether the setting is under regulatory or enforcement action.

9. Normally, we will only defer an inspection or visit if:

• this is the first time the provider has requested a deferral on those grounds

• the headteacher, proprietor, centre manager, childcare provider, nominated individual, the initial teacher education (ITE) provider representative, the nominated lead provider representative, registered manager and/or registered provider or similar authority, or a member of the providers senior management team is subject to a current police investigation or serious concern from another agency that would be compromised by an inspection of, or visit to, the provider

• the provider has experienced a recent major incident, such as: a fatality involving a pupil, child, service user, trainee, training participant or a member of staff; serious injury or serious/infectious illness at a provider; death of a member of a household where childcare takes place; or a serious incident when the presence of an inspector would have an adverse impact on the well-being of children, young people or adults

• the provision is confirmed as being due to merge, close or move and it is decided that no useful purpose will be served by inspecting it (if an independent school is within 6 months of confirmed closure, the inspection will normally still go ahead; we

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