The Coasting Schools (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
The Coasting Schools (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, enacted under powers from the Education and Inspections Act 2006, amend the 2022 regulations by substituting a revised definition of when a school is deemed 'coasting'.
The core change involves updating the specific inspection grades and conditions—differentiating between inspections before and after September 2, 2024—that trigger the coasting designation, alongside specifying the criteria a school must meet to exit that status, and providing definitions for terms like 'relevant assessment' and 'linked school'.
Arguments For
Harmonizing the definition of 'coasting' schools with updated Ofsted inspection frameworks, particularly concerning grading systems introduced on or after September 2, 2024, to ensure current standards are accurately reflected in regulatory action.
Providing clearer, multi-faceted entry conditions that address different inspection timelines (pre- and post-September 2024) and specific inspection outcomes (e.g., grades regarding leadership and governance).
Establishing clear ‘exit conditions’ based on achieving 'good' or 'outstanding' outcomes in key areas during subsequent inspections, allowing schools to formally transition out of coasting status.
Defining terms like 'relevant assessment' and 'linked school' to ensure consistent application of the regulations, especially when dealing with schools that have complex histories or predecessor bodies.
Arguments Against
The complexity introduced by maintaining separate criteria for inspections occurring before and after September 2, 2024, could create ambiguity or necessitate intricate record-keeping for schools falling across that transition date.
The continuation of the 'coasting' designation mechanism itself may be seen as unnecessarily punitive or bureaucratic, potentially diverting resources from direct school improvement efforts.
Relying on assessments from a 'linked school' if the current school lacks a previous Section 5 inspection could impose criteria based on the performance of a different entity.
The exemption from a full impact assessment suggests that potential administrative or strategic burdens on schools resulting from these definitions may not have been fully explored.
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 60B(3) and 181(2)(a) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
The Secretary of State formally creates these Regulations using the authority granted by specific subsections within the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
- (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Coasting Schools (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 and come into force on 17th November 2025.
The official short title for this piece of legislation is the Coasting Schools (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.
These rules officially begin to have legal effect on November 17, 2025.
(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales and apply in relation to schools in England.
Although the regulations apply to schools situated in England, the legal scope of these regulations covers both England and Wales.
- The Coasting Schools (England) Regulations 2022 are amended in accordance with regulation 3.
This regulation states that the existing 2022 Regulations concerning coasting schools are modified according to the changes detailed in the subsequent regulation, Regulation 3.
- For regulation 4 (Coasting schools), substitute—
“4. (1) A school is coasting for the purposes of section 60B(1) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 where—
(a) the school meets the entry conditions in paragraph (2), (3), (4) or (5); and
(b) following any inspections which cause the school to meet the entry conditions in paragraph (2), (3), (4) or (5), the school has not met the exit condition.
(2) The entry conditions in this paragraph are that—
(a) in a section 5 inspection, the school was awarded a grade of “needs attention” by the Chief Inspector in the evaluation area of leadership and governance; and
(b) the Chief Inspector made a relevant assessment—
(i) in the school’s previous section 5 inspection; or
(ii) if the school has not had a previous section 5 inspection, in the most recent section 5 inspection of a linked school.
(3) The entry condition in this paragraph is that in a section 5 inspection report the Chief Inspector—
(a) made a statement required under section 13(4) or section 13(5) of the Education Act 2005;
(b) did not make a statement required under section 13(3)(b) of the Education Act 2005; and
(c) awarded the school—
(i) a grade of “needs attention” in any evaluation area applicable to the school; or
(ii) if the section 5 inspection occurred on or after 2nd September 2024, a grade of “requires improvement” in the key judgement of quality of education or leadership and management; or
(iii) if the section 5 inspection occurred before 2nd September 2024, a grade of “satisfactory” or “requires improvement” for the school’s overall effectiveness.
(4) The entry conditions in this paragraph are that—
(a) in a section 5 inspection that occurred on or after 2nd September 2024, the school was awarded a grade of “requires improvement” by the Chief Inspector in the key judgement of quality of education or leadership and management; and
(b) the Chief Inspector made a relevant assessment—
(i) in the school’s previous section 5 inspection; or
(ii) if the school has not had a previous section 5 inspection, in the most recent section 5 inspection of a linked school.
(5) The entry conditions in this paragraph are that—
(a) in a section 5 inspection that occurred before 2nd September 2024, the school was awarded a grade of “requires improvement” by the Chief Inspector for overall effectiveness; and
(b) the Chief Inspector made a relevant assessment—
(i) in the school’s previous section 5 inspection; or
(ii) if the school has not had a previous section 5 inspection, in the most recent section 5 inspection of a linked school.
(6) In this regulation the exit condition is met if—
(a) in a section 5 inspection or section 8 inspection of the school the Chief Inspector awarded none of the following grades in any evaluation area applicable to the school—
(i) “needs attention”; or
(ii) “urgent improvement”; or
(iii) “not met”; or
(b) in a section 5 inspection that occurred on or after 2nd September 2024, the Chief Inspector awarded a grade of “outstanding” or “good” in the key judgements of quality of education and leadership and management; or
(c) in a section 5 inspection that occurred before 2nd September 2024, the Chief Inspector awarded a grade of “outstanding” or “good” for the school’s overall effectiveness.
(7) In this regulation a “relevant assessment” is—
(a) a statement required under section 13(3)(b) of the Education Act 2005;
(b) a grade of “needs attention” in the evaluation area of leadership and governance;
(c) in a section 5 inspection that occurred on or after 2nd September 2024, a grade of “requires improvement” in the key judgement of quality of education or leadership and management; or
(d) in a section 5 inspection that occurred before 2nd September 2024, a grade of “satisfactory” or “requires improvement” for the school’s overall effectiveness.
(8) In this regulation a “linked school” is, in relation to a school (“School A”)—
(a) its predecessor school;
(b) if there are two or more predecessor schools, each predecessor school; or
(c) if School A has only one predecessor school and that school has not had a section 5 inspection, the most recent school in a chain with School A to receive a section 5 inspection.
(9) In paragraph (8)—
(a) a “predecessor school” is a school that—
(i) has been discontinued; and
(ii) upon discontinuation was replaced by School A;
(b) a “school in a chain with School A” means any of the schools which are part of a sequence of schools which were discontinued and replaced by another school where the last school in the sequence is School A.
(10) In this regulation—
(a) a “section 5 inspection” means an inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.
(b) a “section 8 inspection” means an inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.”.
This section entirely replaces Regulation 4, which defines when a school becomes 'coasting' under the Act.
A school is coasting if it meets specific entry conditions (set out in subsections 2 through 5) and has not subsequently met the recognized exit condition.
The entry conditions vary depending on the specific inspection findings, such as receiving a 'needs attention' grade for leadership/governance (subsection 2), or receiving specific statements or grades related to overall effectiveness or quality of education, with different rules applying based on whether the inspection occurred before or after September 2, 2024 (subsections 3, 4, and 5).
The exit condition (subsection 6) is met when subsequent inspections do not result in low grades ('needs attention', 'urgent improvement', or 'not met') or when 'good' or 'outstanding' grades are achieved in key areas or overall effectiveness, again referencing the pre- or post-September 2, 2024 inspection date.
The regulation also defines technical terms such as 'relevant assessment' (subsection 7), 'linked school' (subsection 8), 'predecessor school' (subsection 9(a)), and specifies what constitutes a Section 5 or Section 8 inspection (subsection 10).