Understanding Estyn inspections in Wales

Schools in Wales are inspected by Estyn, His Majesty's Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales. Estyn is a separate body from Ofsted, works to its own framework, and reports in its own way, so an Estyn judgement is never the same thing as an Ofsted one and the two cannot be compared. This guide explains what Estyn looks at, how its reports changed in 2022, and how to read the Estyn information shown on a Welsh school's page here.

What Estyn inspects

Estyn inspects the full range of education and training in Wales, from nursery and primary schools through secondary, all-age and special schools to pupil referral units, further education and work-based learning. For a school, an inspection looks at teaching and learning, pupils' wellbeing and the care and support they receive, and how well the school is led and improving. Inspectors gather evidence over an inspection visit and publish a report for parents to read.

How often Estyn inspects

Estyn works to a six-year inspection cycle, and the current one runs from September 2024 to the summer of 2030. Every maintained school is inspected at least once within that period, with a shorter interim visit in between to check on how the school is getting on. Because the cycle is a long one, the most recent report for a school can be a few years old and still be its current inspection. That is normal, and it is one reason the inspection date matters as much as the findings.

What happens during an inspection

An inspection is more than a look at lessons. Before inspectors arrive, parents and carers are invited to share their views through an online questionnaire, and pupils are asked for theirs. During the visit, parents can meet the inspectors in person, and inspectors gather evidence across the three areas the framework covers. Estyn then publishes the report about six weeks after the inspection begins, written so that parents can read it for themselves.

Two eras of Estyn reporting

The way Estyn sums up a school changed in 2022, so the report you see depends on when the school was last inspected.

Graded inspections before 2022

Until 2022 Estyn gave a school summary judgements on a four-point scale:

• Excellent: very strong, sustained performance and practice
• Good: many strengths and no important areas needing significant improvement
• Adequate and needs improvement: strengths outweigh weaknesses, but important areas need improvement
• Unsatisfactory and needs urgent improvement: important weaknesses outweigh strengths

These grades belong to the older framework. A school last inspected under it has not been assessed against the way Estyn reports today.

Narrative reports from 2022

From 2022 Estyn stopped giving maintained schools summary grades. Inspection reports are now written in words rather than scored on a scale. A refreshed framework introduced in September 2024 keeps this narrative approach across three areas: teaching and learning; wellbeing, care, support and guidance; and leading and improving. There is no single overall grade to read, by design, so the report itself is what tells you about the school.

Follow-up after an inspection

Where a school needs to improve, Estyn places it in a follow-up category and returns to check on progress. The current categories, from lightest to most serious, are Estyn review, significant improvement and special measures. A school not placed in any category needs no follow-up. Follow-up status is a fact about what happens next, not a grade for the school's quality.

How OfferDay shows Estyn information

Estyn's terms of use do not allow its reports to be republished, so OfferDay does not copy Estyn's words or hold a copy of its report library. Instead, a Welsh school's page shows only the headline facts, clearly attributed to Estyn: the date of the most recent inspection, the report type, and the follow-up status or headline outcome where it is plainly available. Every one of those pages links straight to the school's own report on the Estyn website, which is where you should read the full findings. To find a school, start from our list of schools in Wales, grouped by council and town.

Where a school has no Estyn inspection on record, we say so plainly rather than filling the gap. We never translate an Estyn judgement into an Ofsted or Education Scotland grade, and we never rank Welsh schools against schools in another nation. How we treat every source is set out in our data guide.

What to look at as a parent

• The date first. A recent report describes the school as it is now; an older graded inspection describes a school under a framework Estyn has since replaced.
• The report, not a label. For inspections from 2022 there is no overall grade, so the report's own account of teaching, wellbeing and leadership is what matters.
• Follow-up status. If a school is in a follow-up category, the report explains why and what is being done.
• Your own visit. An inspection is one view on one week. Visiting the school tells you things no report can.