Every year we run 'point-in-time' surveys for about 6 weeks in February and March. Your responses to these online questionnaires help us decide who and when to inspect. The information also helps us consider what to focus on and ask about when we’re inspecting.
In this blog we explain more about the surveys and how we use them. If you are asked to share or complete a survey, please do so if you can!
What are the surveys?
We use the online surveys to gather views about:
- children’s homes
- secure children’s homes
- adoption services
- fostering services
- residential family centres
- boarding schools
- residential special schools
- further education colleges
We try to get responses from everyone in or connected to children’s social care, including:
- children
- learners
- parents
- foster carers
- staff
- social workers
- other professionals
How do you decide when to inspect?
Your responses can help us to decide when to inspect services. Inspectors may prioritise inspecting a service where answers were less positive or flagged certain issues. For example, if several responses about a service mention high staff turnover, we might bring its inspection forward. This is because high staff turnover can indicate a lack of stability for children.
If a service receives very few responses or blank surveys, we may well prioritise that service’s inspection. This would be because the low or no response rate could indicate a closed culture or a manager not sharing the survey with children, staff, parents and professionals.
Of course, if any responses raise serious concerns, we follow them up immediately.
How do you decide what to focus on when inspecting?
Inspectors will review responses while they prepare an inspection. This can help them decide what their lines of enquiry will be, what they need more information about, and what concerns they want to look in to. The survey responses help them identify potential risks and problems or things that could develop into bigger issues if left unchecked.
It’s not just negatives. The responses can also help inspectors look for positives and good practice. They might see things they want to check on inspection that could contribute to a 'good' or 'outstanding' judgement or be shared as an example of how to do things for other providers to consider or adopt.
How else do you use the survey responses?
As well as helping with individual inspections, the survey responses help us build a bigger and better picture of how children in care are supported across England.
In previous years, we have received over 40,000 responses including nearly 7,000 from children. The responses helped us raise concerns about issues including children’s mental health in secure homes. But we were also able to highlight good news like the fact that most children said their relationships with the adults and children where they lived or stayed were positive.
We have published a full analysis of the findings from last year’s survey responses.
What can I do?
If you are a provider registered with and/or inspected by Ofsted, you should have received an email containing a set of links that are unique to your service. The email will outline which audiences should receive each unique link, for example children, staff or parents. You should send out these links to the relevant audience types for that provider. We have published more guidance should you need it.
If you are a child or parent and have received the survey from your school, college, agency or centre, please do complete it if you can. Your response will help us and could make a real difference. If you haven’t received a survey, ask the provider.
You can also call Ofsted on 0300 123 1231 or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. We can't accept your survey response on the phone, but we can answer any questions you may have about the survey or how we will use your responses.