Corporate report

Ofsted Board minutes: 11 December 2024

Updated 24 April 2025

Applies to England

Present

Christine Ryan (Chair)

Martyn Oliver (HMCI)

Felicity Gillespie

Martin Spencer

Chris Hanvey

Carole Stott

David Meyer

Laura Wyld

Jo Moran

Jon Yates

Hamid Patel

Frank Young

Executive attendance

Matthew Coffey (Deputy HMCI)

Louise Grainger (Chief Financial Officer) 

Rory Gribbell (Director, Strategy and Engagement)

Alex Jones (Director, Insights and Research)

Lee Owston (National Director, Education) 

Yvette Stanley (National Director, Regulation and Social Care) 

Observer

Juliet Chua (Director General, Schools Group, Department for Education)

Also in attendance

Principal Private Secretary to HMCI, Head of Private Office (meeting items: HMCI update, strategy delivery unit update, report from ARAC, including strategic risk update, corporate governance framework development update, strategic comms update, target operating model, inspection improvement update, finance update, any other business)

Head of Strategy Delivery (meeting items: strategy delivery unit update, report from ARAC, including strategic risk update)

Strategic Priorities Risks and Compliance Lead (meeting items: strategy delivery unit update, report from ARAC, including strategic risk update)

Head of Strategic Priorities (meeting items: strategy delivery unit update)

Kate Warburton, Deputy Director, Legal Services (meeting items: corporate governance framework development update)

Mark Leech, Deputy Director, Communications (meeting items: strategic comms update)

Executive support

Board Secretary

Corporate Governance Officer

Status

Approved at the Board meeting on 26 February 2025.

Welcome, apologies and declarations of interest

The minutes of the last meeting were approved as a correct record.

Laura Wyld declared a new interest as an Officer of the Maternity All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) commencing in March 2025.

Actions and matters arising

Actions from the last meeting

The board was updated on the progress of outstanding actions. Six actions were closed. Four actions remain open or ongoing.

There were no matters arising.

Actions taken by the Chair

The board was updated on the recent challenge session attended by the Chair to scrutinise delivery of actions committed to in the Big Listen response (including Ofsted’s response to Dame Christine Gilbert’s review). Of 132 actions, 42 have been delivered and the remainder are on track. The Chair also reviewed and commented on the Big Listen action monitoring report ahead of its planned publication on 20 December.

The board noted the work completed so far to revise the corporate governance framework. A new draft will be brought to February’s board meeting for comment.

The board noted that the Chair and senior board member had reviewed and commented on Ofsted’s annual report prior to its publication on 5 December.

The Chair briefed that she had a routine catch-up meeting with the Chair of the Care Quality Commission on 11 November.

HMCI update

The board received an update from HMCI, which included:

• performance and progress against strategic objectives agreed with the Chair
• progress on inspection reform and preparation for the consultation
• outcomes of the first round of the spending review and next steps
• results from the Civil Service People Survey
• public engagement and significant publications since last board meeting, including the 2024-25 annual report

The board supported the proposed new approach to the annual report. The board welcomed the scrutiny of costs and impact of the report and supported continued efforts to deliver improved value for money. They were also keen to emphasise the need to ensure access to the full statistical analysis and to provide clear commentary on the impact of government policy, as seen from evidence in our inspection and regulation work.  It was recognised that this year’s annual report was necessarily presented in a different format due to the significant volume of change underway.

Action: Director of Insights and Research to provide a high-level summary of the resource allocated to produce the 2023/4 and 2024/5 annual reports, compared with previous years, at the next board meeting.

Strategy delivery unit update

The board received an update on the following areas of work by the strategy delivery unit:

• update on the development of the new strategy and proposed timeline for next steps
• update on development of the executive dashboard
• action tracking and publication of the Big Listen action monitoring report

The board discussed the importance of robust internal engagement in development of the strategy. The board agreed that the development of precise and measurable metrics was essential, and sufficient time should be allocated to develop these.

The board agreed to the proposed timeline for developing the strategy and the high-level plan for development but emphasised the need for work at pace. The board discussed how they could best monitor HMCI effectiveness whilst the new strategy was in development. The board agreed that they would continue to review and scrutinise HMCI’s performance against his strategic objectives at each board meeting. The board will review progress on this work at the February meeting.

The board approved the Big Listen action monitoring report for publication on 20 December.

The board congratulated the Early Years Data and Analysis team for winning the 2024 Civil Service Evaluation and Analysis award for their work on childcare deserts and oases.

Report from ARAC, including strategic risk update

The board noted that the findings of two internal audits were discussed at the November Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) meeting, and that both received a substantial opinion from the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA). The 2024-25 internal audit plan is on track.

The board noted that ARAC members reviewed the external audit planning report for 2025-26. The ARAC members have queried the substantial fee increase and asked for more information to be shared about the reasons for increased costs.

The board noted that ARAC approved the plan to produce the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25.

The board was given an update on improvements to the strategic risk register. The board noted that ARAC members reviewed changes to the organisational risk management policy and scrutinised the strategic risk register. The board approved the general approach to improving the risk register, with some suggestions for further refinement.  They requested that separate consideration be given to the combined risks associated with the scale and speed current reforms. 

Action: Director, Strategy and Engagement to draft a risk reflecting delivery of Ofsted 2025 reforms.

Corporate governance framework development update

The board was updated on the discussions and developments arising from the corporate governance framework working group. The board considered the working group’s recommendations for the proposed next steps and agreed changes to strengthen Board oversight, in accordance with recommendations from Dame Christine Gilbert’s independent learning review. A revised draft corporate governance framework, based on the agreed recommendations, will be developed by the executive to be presented to the Ofsted board for review and comment at the February meeting.

Action: Ofsted colleagues in the corporate governance framework working group to prepare a draft corporate governance framework, incorporating the agreed changes, for the February board meeting.

Strategic comms update

The board received an update on Ofsted’s internal and external communications strategy, and how this has been implemented.

Target operating model

The board was appraised of proposals to streamline and improve regional delivery.

The board agreed that they were content for the Chair to review these proposed changes with HMCI in greater detail as the plans progress, on behalf of the board.

Action: Board Chair to discuss the target operating model with HMCI in greater detail and provide feedback and challenge on behalf of the board before decisions are taken.

Inspection improvement update

The board received a high-level update on progress on the inspection improvement programme.

The board discussed potential delays to the timeline for the consultation and associated risks, and fully supported any mitigating actions taken by HMCI and the executive.

The board will continue to monitor the progress of inspection improvement. As the work progresses, the board will scrutinise its impact as part of Ofsted’s broader commitment to improving the organisation’s culture.

Finance update

The board noted the period 7 full-year forecast. The board was updated on plans to pilot zero-based reviews and budget challenge sessions. This will inform budget planning for 2025-26.

Any other business

The board was provided with a brief update on office relocations.

HMCI informed the board on his upcoming appearance at the Education Select Committee on Tuesday 7 January.