Inspectorate also increases scrutiny of councils’ use of unregistered accommodation in changes to the inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework that come into force in April 2026.
Ofsted will stop giving council children’s social care services an overall rating next month, alongside wider changes to its inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework.
The inspectorate will continue to rate authorities as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate in relation to leadership and services for children in need of help and protection, children in care and care leavers, respectively.
However, as it confirmed in November 2025, it will cease giving them a rating for overall effectiveness, the first part of a two-stage reform that will see the ILACS replaced by a new inspection framework from April 2027.
Why overall rating has been dropped
The end to single-word headline ratings was a product of the Big Listen, a largescale consultation exercise carried out by Ofsted after a coroner found that its inspection of Caversham Primary School, Reading, in November 2022, contributed to headteacher Ruth Perry’s decision to take her own life.
Respondents to the consultation told the inspectorate that the overall rating was simplistic, often punitive and failed to take account of local authorities’ context.
The removal of the headline rating comes in the wake of councils showing significant improvement against this metric. Currently, 27% councils – 42 of the 153 – are graded outstanding overall, up from 20% in March 2024.
Implications of removal of headline judgment
The removal of the headline rating has necessitated changes to the triggers Ofsted will use for determining how it will inspect authorities, under its risk-based approach to overseeing performance. From next month:
- Councils judged good or outstanding for leadership and at least two of the three practice judgments will usually receive one focused visit before a short inspection.
- Those assessed as requires improvement for leadership or at least two practice judgments will usually receive two focused visits and then a standard inspection.
- Local authorities judged inadequate for any practice judgement will receive monitoring visits and then a standard inspection.
Standard inspections take two weeks, whereas short ones take a single week.
Greater scrutiny of unregistered placements
Ofsted said its changes to ILACS also included a greater focus on evaluating councils’ use of unregistered placements, which are unlawful, and of actions authorities were taking to bring such use to an end.
In making its judgments, the inspectorate will consider:
- how often the council places children in unregistered children’s homes or supported accommodation, and how long children remain in these placements;
- whether placements are made on an emergency basis, without which a child’s human rights would be breached;
- whether placements are being made with a provider that is known to be operating unlawfully and has either failed to apply to register with Ofsted or been refused registration;
- if the local authority is erroneously relying on the placement being ‘approved’ by the High Court in making a deprivation of liberty order;
- the extent to which the council is mitigating the risks of the placement, for example, by seeking a lawful placement, encouraging the provider to register, carrying out robust oversight to assure itself of the child’s safety and wellbeing, and assuring itself that the provider and its staff are safe to work with children.
Reflecting children’s social care reforms
The inspectorate has also updated its evaluation criteria to reflect the impact of Department for Education’s children’s social care reforms.
Changes to the criteria for the judgment on children needing help and protection acknowledge the DfE’s expectation that councils establish multidisciplinary family help teams, to support families from the point of targeted early help up to and including child protection.
The inspectorate added that it had increased the focus on practitioners engaging with family networks within the help and protection, children in care and care leaver judgments, which is also in line with the DfE’s reform agenda.
It has also updated the criteria for the leadership judgment to highlight the importance of continuing professional development for both leaders and practitioners. This includes expecting councils to provide “a learning offer that prepares [practitioners] to meet the practice expectations of the children’s social care reforms”.
2027 changes to inspections
Ofsted said it would launch a consultation in the summer on its new inspection framework, which will go live in 2027.
Source: Community Care
