Guides · 2026-10-14

Moving for schools? How to judge them now Ofsted no longer gives one-word grades

Ofsted stopped giving state schools a single overall grade such as "Outstanding". Here is what to look at instead when you are choosing where to live for schools.

For years, parents shortlisted areas by counting "Outstanding" schools nearby. Ofsted has stopped giving state schools a single overall grade, so that shortcut no longer works. Since November 2025, inspections produce a report card that grades separate areas, such as curriculum and teaching, achievement, attendance and behaviour, inclusion, and leadership, on a five-point scale from 'urgent improvement' to 'exceptional'. Many schools still show an older one-word grade until they are next inspected.

What to check instead

• Distance, not just quality. Many oversubscribed schools use distance to decide who gets a place, so the school's published admissions criteria, and how far the last child admitted lived, can matter more than a rating.
• The latest inspection report itself, not a summary badge. Read the areas that matter to your child.
• Choice. An area with several schools in range is a safer bet than one with a single sought-after school you might not get into.
• The phase you need. A great primary does not help if the nearest secondary is a long bus ride away.

Using PlaceFit

PlaceFit counts open schools around each place from the Department for Education's register, by phase, so you can see which areas give you real choice. It does not rate schools or predict admissions: always check the council's admissions information for the address you are considering.

Find places with schools nearby · How PlaceFit counts schools