Of all the conversations during an inspection, those with senior leaders carry the most weight. Leaders set the school’s direction, and inspectors test whether that direction is understood, evidenced and lived throughout the school. The questions begin in the planning call and continue across both days. This guide sets out the themes inspectors explore with headteachers and senior leaders under the November 2025 framework, and how to meet them with evidence rather than assertion.
Quick summary
- Leadership conversations start in the 90-minute planning call and continue throughout the inspection.
- Inspectors explore curriculum intent, self-evaluation, achievement, inclusion, attendance and behaviour, safeguarding, and leadership capacity.
- The central test is whether leaders’ account matches what inspectors find in classrooms and conversations.
- Strong answers are specific, honest and evidenced — not aspirational statements.
Where leadership questions begin: the planning call
Much of the leadership conversation starts before inspectors arrive, in the planning call — a video conference of up to 90 minutes on the day of notification. Here inspectors ask leaders to set out the school’s context, their priorities, and where they are on their improvement journey. This is leaders’ chance to frame the school honestly and set the agenda for what inspectors examine.
The themes inspectors explore with leaders
Curriculum intent and design
- What is your curriculum designed to achieve, and why?
- How is it sequenced so pupils build knowledge over time?
- How do you ensure consistency across subjects and key stages?
Self-evaluation and improvement
- What are your school’s greatest strengths and most pressing weaknesses?
- How do you know? What is your evidence?
- What are your improvement priorities, and how are you acting on them?
Achievement
- How well are pupils achieving across the curriculum?
- How do you know pupils are learning and remembering more over time?
- What are you doing about groups who are not achieving well enough?
Inclusion
Central to the current framework:
- How do you ensure disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND access the full curriculum?
- What is the impact of your inclusion work?
- How is additional funding (such as pupil premium) used, and to what effect?
Attendance and behaviour
- What is your attendance picture, including for vulnerable groups, and how are you improving it?
- How is your behaviour culture established and maintained consistently?
Safeguarding and culture
- How do you ensure safeguarding is effective and understood by every adult?
- How do you know your safeguarding culture is strong, not just your policies?
Leadership capacity and workload
- How do you develop and support staff, including middle leaders?
- How do you manage staff workload and wellbeing?
- How does governance hold you to account?
How leaders should approach these conversations
- Lead with evidence. For every claim, be ready with how you know — data you actually use, examples, outcomes.
- Be honest about weaknesses. Naming a real weakness and your plan for it is more credible than presenting a flawless picture.
- Ensure alignment. What you say should match what teachers, pupils and governors say and what inspectors see. Misalignment is the fastest way to lose credibility.
- Know your most vulnerable pupils. Inclusion is a headline area; be able to talk specifically about how the school serves disadvantaged and SEND pupils.
- Own the narrative in the planning call. Use it to frame context before inspectors form their own picture.
The alignment test
The single most important thing to understand is that inspectors are checking for consistency between leaders’ account and lived reality. If leaders describe a coherent, well-sequenced curriculum, inspectors will look for it in books, lessons and pupils’ knowledge. If leaders claim strong inclusion, case sampling of vulnerable pupils will test it. Leaders who build genuine quality, and evidence it, pass this test naturally.
See also the companion guides on questions for teachers, students and governors, and How Does an Ofsted Inspection Actually Work?
Frequently asked questions
When do leadership questions start?
In the planning call — a video conference of up to 90 minutes on the day of notification — and they continue throughout the inspection.
What is the most important theme for leaders?
Curriculum intent and honest self-evaluation, backed by evidence, alongside safeguarding and inclusion.
How should leaders talk about weaknesses?
Openly. Name the weakness, explain how you know, and set out your plan. Honesty is more credible than a flawless account.
What does the “alignment test” mean?
Inspectors check whether leaders’ account of the school matches what teachers, pupils and governors say and what inspectors observe.
Do leaders need detailed data?
Leaders should be able to evidence claims, but with data they genuinely use — not statistics prepared solely for the visit.
How important is inclusion in leadership conversations?
Very. Inclusion is a headline evaluation area; leaders should speak specifically about disadvantaged and SEND pupils and the impact of their support.
Conclusion
Inspectors ask leaders to account for the school’s direction and to prove it is real. The strongest leaders answer with honesty and evidence, ensure their account aligns with what happens across the school, and use the planning call to frame their own story. Do that, and the leadership conversation becomes a fair reflection of genuine work.
How AI Buddy supports schools
Leadership conversations turn on evidence — how do you know pupils are achieving? how do you know your inclusion work has impact? AI Buddy is designed to support schools in strengthening areas evaluated during Ofsted inspections, giving leaders dashboards and analytics that evidence engagement, progress and the impact of support for different groups of pupils. It is not endorsed or certified by Ofsted; it is built to help leaders make and evidence data-informed decisions.
Discover how AI Buddy helps schools strengthen teaching, learning and evidence-informed school improvement. Or start a short consultation with our schools team using the form below.
Sources
- Ofsted, School inspection operating guide for inspectors: for use from November 2025 (GOV.UK)
- Ofsted, Education inspection framework: for use from November 2025 (GOV.UK)
- Ofsted, Understanding Ofsted report cards and grades (GOV.UK)