Following the national lockdown that came into effect on 5 January 2021, Ofsted has reviewed its inspection activities. Full and short inspections will remain suspended for the time being, taking account of the evolving COVID-19 situation. It has stated that from 25 January 2021 it will carry out the following inspection activities:
- progress monitoring visits (PMVs) to providers judged to require improvement for overall effectiveness that have not yet received a monitoring visit since their last full inspection
- PMVs to providers judged inadequate for overall effectiveness that have not yet received a monitoring visit since their last full inspection or that are due their second re-inspection monitoring visit (if they continue to be publicly funded)
It says it may also carry out PMVs to other providers on a case-by-case basis. Full details are here. Its deferral policy has also been updated.