Scores of trust leaders have been told they face having “coasting” schools rebrokered despite improving their Ofsted grades – with many others issued warnings despite just having one inspection.
Calls are growing for the Department for Education to ditch its “coasting” intervention powers. Introduced in September 2022, the powers mean schools with two or more consecutive Ofsted ratings below ‘good’ can be academised or rebrokered.
A Schools Week investigation has found 469 coasting letters – warning schools they face intervention – have been issued so far.
There were 22 instances where a trust was given a warning letter despite improving the school’s Ofsted grade in either its first or second inspection. Two were even sent termination warning notices.
