THE Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) was formed in 1984 to keep a check on how schools were performing across the country.
It sees a team of inspectors visit schools for one or two days to check on several factors.
The way inspections are carried out has changed over the years. Schools and academies are now judged on four areas – attainment, teaching quality, behaviour of students, and leadership and management. There are four possible outcomes of the report, the best being "outstanding". Others, in order, are "good", "requires improvement" and "inadequate".
Since tougher judgements were brought in last year by Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw, those getting the bottom two ratings are subject to monitoring inspections to ensure sufficient improvements are being made.
Those judged "inadequate" can be placed in special measures if Ofsted deems improvements can't be made without external help.
Schools placed into special measures receive intensive support from local authorities, and additional funding and resourcing.
