Note: Every inspection is different. These example questions are designed to help leaders, staff, and governors prepare clear, confident answers.
School Context
- What is the school’s context and community?
- What recent changes have affected your school?
- Have there been any recent tensions or pressures from the community, and how has the school responded to these?
- What progress has been made since the last inspection?
- How do you evaluate strengths and areas for development across leadership, curriculum, personal development, inclusion, and safeguarding?
- What are your current improvement priorities, and how are they being implemented?
- Where do they believe the school currently sits on the 5-point grading scale for each evaluation area?
Safeguarding
- How do you promote a culture where safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility?
- How do staff, pupils, and parents raise concerns, and how confident are they that these will be acted upon?
- What training do staff receive on safeguarding (including online safety and peer-on-peer abuse)?
- How do you ensure safer recruitment and manage allegations effectively?
- How do you monitor safeguarding in alternative provision or off-site education?
- How do you work with multi-agency partners to safeguard pupils?
Inclusion
- How do leaders ensure that staff can identify disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND, those known (or previously known) to social care, and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being (e.g., young carers)?
- What is the impact of the support given to pupils, and how is that impact monitored and reviewed?
- How do you ensure disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND access the full curriculum?
- How do you train staff to meet diverse needs while maintaining high expectations?
- How do you work with parents and outside agencies to support vulnerable pupils?
- How do you ensure all pupils are fully included in school life?
Curriculum and Teaching
- How is your curriculum ambitious, broad, and well-sequenced for all pupils?
- How do you ensure reading, writing, communication, and mathematics are strong foundations?
- How do you check pupils’ understanding and address misconceptions?
- How do you use assessment to secure long-term learning (not just test performance)?
- How do you adapt teaching for SEND and disadvantaged pupils while promoting independence?
- How do you support teacher development and subject knowledge?
Achievement
- How do you know pupils are knowing more, remembering more, and doing more?
- How do you track progress from different starting points (including SEND and disadvantaged pupils)?
- How do you use national assessment outcomes alongside wider evidence of achievement?
- What strategies help pupils who fall behind catch up quickly?
- How do you ensure pupils are ready for their next stage of education, training, or employment?
Attendance and Behaviour
- What expectations do you set for attendance, punctuality, and behaviour?
- How do you use data to identify and address emerging issues?
- What strategies improve attendance for pupils with persistent absence?
- How do you support pupils returning from suspension or alternative provision?
- How do you deal with low-level disruption?
- How do you prevent and respond to bullying, discrimination, or peer abuse?
- How do you help pupils develop resilience, independence, and positive attitudes to learning?
Personal Development and Well-being
- How do you promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development?
- How do you prepare pupils for life in modern Britain (democracy, respect, rule of law)?
- What is your approach to PSHE, including relationships and sex education?
- How do you promote healthy lifestyles, mental health, and well-being?
- How do you encourage participation in enrichment, extracurricular, and volunteering?
- How do you support pupils to make informed choices about future learning/careers?
- How is pupil voice integrated into school development?
- How do you measure the long-term impact of your PSHE and RSE programmes?
- How do you ensure pupils develop resilience against online misinformation and harmful influences?
Early Years (if applicable)
- How does your early years curriculum prepare children for Year 1 and beyond?
- How do you ensure strong communication, language, and early reading skills?
- How do you identify and support children with SEND early on?
- How do you create a safe, stimulating environment that supports independence?
- How do you involve parents in supporting their children’s development?
- How do you monitor and use assessment to plan next steps?
Post-16 Provision (if applicable)
- How is the curriculum ambitious and aligned to local and national employment needs?
- How do you prepare learners for further study, apprenticeships, or employment?
- How do you promote high expectations and ensure learners complete successfully?
- How do you support disadvantaged learners or those with SEND?
- How do you develop learners’ employability and life skills?
- How do you provide impartial careers advice and guidance?
Leadership and Governance
- How do you evaluate the impact of leadership on improving outcomes?
- How do you ensure leaders at all levels are ambitious for pupils and staff?
- How do you balance workload and staff well-being with school improvement?
- How do governors/trustees hold leaders to account and ensure statutory responsibilities are met?
- How do you use self-evaluation to identify strengths and areas for improvement?
- How do you ensure financial resources, including pupil premium and SEND funding, are used effectively?
- How do you develop future leaders and sustain capacity for improvement?
Top Tips for Leaders
✔ Be honest – inspectors value transparency.
✔ Be concise – keep answers clear and avoid unnecessary detail.
✔ Use evidence – provide examples, data, and impact.
✔ Be consistent – ensure leaders, staff, and governors give aligned responses.