Dorking Nursery School is inspected under Section 5 of the schools Education Inspection Framework, in the same way as primary and secondary schools.

How Ofsted inspections work

Ofsted began routine inspection of schools in January 2026 under their new assessment framework which no longer includes one-word judgements of a school’s overall performance. The new way of carrying out inspections is designed to ensure schools are meeting the needs of all children, including those who are disadvantaged and those with additional needs and disabilities. 

How are schools now graded?

The previous inspection grades of Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement and Inadequate have been replaced. Ofsted has stressed that the old grades cannot be compared to the new outcomes due to its different approach to inspections and the new way of reporting to parents and carers.

The following five-point scale is now in place:

What is inspected and graded?

Specific focus areas are graded individually for every school inspected. These are:

• Achievement
• Attendance and Behaviour
• Curriculum and Teaching
• Inclusion
• Leadership and Governance
• Personal Development and Wellbeing

How are inspection findings published?

Ofsted reports are being replaced with new online report cards. It is perfectly possible for a school to achieve highly in some areas whilst requiring more focus and development in others.

Alongside the grades a school achieves in each area, the report card also provides detailed descriptions of what inspectors found during their inspection. This is to help parents and carers understand why Ofsted has awarded the different grades and what it’s like to be a child or young person at that school.

Read the full report here

You can read the full report in the link below or visit the Ofsted Website. 

If you are a parent in the nursery, you can also give your feedback on the nursery via the Parentview link below. To see more about Ofsted and Dorking Nursery School, visit the Ofsted Website.