Embarking on the journey of headship is an exciting and transformative experience but one that can come with a lot of uncertainties at the beginning. Fear not! At Honeyguide, we understand the challenges and aspirations of new school leaders like you. That's why we've created this comprehensive document. It’s designed specifically to guide you through the first few crucial stages of your new role, including before you start, your first few weeks, first half-term and first full term. The document is fully editable so add or delete any tasks that are specific to your setting, and allow us to take some of the pressure off by supporting your thinking in your exciting new role!

Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit Update Briefing - Free PowerPoint for School Leaders - Fully Aligned to 2025 Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit

Navigate the biggest changes to school inspections in years with this comprehensive briefing presentation. Perfect for headteachers, SLT members, and school leaders preparing their teams for the new Ofsted framework.

What's included in this free Ofsted update presentation for staff:

☑️ Complete timeline of when changes take effect

☑️ New 5-point grading system and report card system explained 

☑️ 8 evaluation areas broken down for staff

☑️ Inspection process changes, including no more deep dives and case sampling method

☑️ Practical preparation steps for school leaders and staff with discussion prompts and reflection activities

This ready-to-present PowerPoint saves you hours of preparation time whilst ensuring your team understands exactly what's changing and when. Designed specifically for whole-school INSET sessions, staff meeting, leadership briefings or departmental meetings.

Perfect for: Headteachers, Deputy Heads, SLT members, trust leaders and anyone responsible for Ofsted preparation, school improvement and staff development.

🔒 Fully aligned to the 2025 Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit

This comprehensive preparation pack helps headteachers, deputies and senior leaders feel confident and ready when the initial Ofsted phone call arrives. Built around the current Ofsted inspection process for 2026, including the structured 90-minute planning call, it provides everything you need to navigate and feel confident about both the notification and planning conversations with inspectors.

You'll get:

☑️ Complete process guide covering both the notification call and the new three-part planning call structure, including timing expectations, attendee arrangements, and the role of the nominee

☑️ Example phone call questions template with realistic scenarios based on the 2025 framework to help you practise responses and build confidence

☑️ Ready-to-use crib sheet for essential figures and contacts, plus notification list to inform all stakeholders promptly

☑️ Post-call action checklists covering staff briefing and inspection day logistics

☑️ Ofsted documentation folder checklist and inspection responsibilities list to delegate tasks clearly across your team and get everyone prepared for when the call does come

Ideal for leaders who want to transform inspection anxiety into confident preparation, ensuring they can focus on representing their school effectively, rather than worrying about what Ofsted will ask during the phone call and what you'll say in response.

Please note; this pack covers the initial Ofsted phone call (the notification call and planning call) that schools receive prior to a full inspection. It does not cover the processes for monitoring phone calls which take place if a school is due a monitoring inspection or a focused monitoring inspection.

🔎 Want a closer look? Click here to preview the Ofsted Phone Call Preparation Pack🔗

👉 Looking for further support on preparing for inspection? These resources are also available as part of the full Ofsted Inspection Preparation Pack too.

🔒 Fully aligned with the Ofsted 2025 School Inspection Toolkit

This ready-to-use SEF template takes the complexity out of school self-evaluation, providing clear frameworks and prompts that reflect how inspectors actually assess schools against the 2025 Ofsted Inspection Framework. Designed specifically for headteachers, deputy heads, and senior leadership teams who need efficient, evidence-based evaluation tools.

What you get in the pack

Two comprehensive documents that work together:

☑️ Self-Evaluation Form Template Complete editable evaluation framework with detailed prompts for all evaluation areas, evidence source suggestions for each section, and structured format ensuring comprehensive coverage. Fully editable to save hours of formatting time covering the following areas:

• Safeguarding - comprehensive prompts covering culture, policies, training, and multi-agency working
• Inclusion - SEND provision, disadvantaged pupils, pupil premium strategy, and accessibility
• Curriculum and Teaching - curriculum design, sequencing, assessment, and professional development
• Achievement - progress tracking, foundational knowledge, and outcomes analysis
• Attendance and Behaviour - culture, expectations, intervention strategies, and data analysis
• Personal Development and Well-being - PSHE, careers education, character development, and life preparation
• Leadership and Governance - strategic planning, performance management, and stakeholder engagement
• Early Years - EYFS curriculum, assessment, and transition planning (where applicable)
• Post-16 Provision - study programmes, careers guidance, and progression outcomes (where applicable)

☑️ Ofsted Grade Descriptor Grids Current grade descriptors aligned to the latest inspection toolkit, helping you accurately assess performance against the standards inspectors actually use.

• Quality of Education
• Behaviour and Attitudes
• Personal Development
• Leadership and Management
• Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) (if applicable to your setting)
• Sixth-Form Provision (if applicable to your setting)

Perfect for headteachers planning and reviewing their SIP, senior leaders conducting annual reviews, or governing bodies seeking structured evaluation processes. It's particularly valuable for new headteachers or leadership teams wanting to ensure comprehensive coverage of all inspection areas or those wishing to refine their SEF writing process.

👉 For those seeking deeper guidance on how to write a SEF, our School Evaluation and Improvement Pack is also available - it contains this editable SEF template too, plus templates for writing a school improvement plan, full PDF guidance and further supportive resources. If you're thinking about your SEF as part of Ofsted preparation, it's available in the full Ofsted Inspection Preparation Pack too.

Start meaningful conversations about AI use in schools without needing all the answers. This free editable download offers sample reflection questions across key areas of school life, plus prompts to help you think more widely about the ethical use of AI in education.

It’s designed for headteachers, SLT, trust leaders and any school leaders starting to explore how AI might support or impact their setting.

Use it to begin strategic thinking, shape SLT discussions or evaluate where AI fits into your wider school planning. You can also upgrade to the full toolkit if you're ready to go deeper.

🔒 Fully aligned to the final Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2025

New for 2025, this Inclusion Audit Pack helps SENDCos, DSLs, inclusion leads, designated teachers and SLT review inclusion, SEND and disadvantaged pupil provision across eight comprehensive areas. Aligned with Ofsted's 2025 School Inspection Toolkit, it supports self-evaluation, continuous improvement and strategic leadership for inclusive education.

☑️ Comprehensive 39-page inclusion audit document with structured prompts across eight key themes: inclusive vision and culture, identifying and meeting needs, supporting disadvantaged pupils, supporting pupils with SEND, supporting pupils known (or previously known) to children's social care, inclusive practice across curriculum and wider school life, partnerships with families and services, and evaluating impact

☑️ Complete audit toolkit includes action plan template, inclusion evidence checklist, staff, pupil, parent/carer and governor question bank, a one-page SLT/governor summary, Ofsted inclusion grade descriptor grids and guidance on conducting an effective audit

☑️ Supports comprehensive review of SEND provision, pupil premium strategies, looked-after and previously looked-after pupil provision, and wider inclusive practice with confidence and clarity 

☑️ Fully editable templates allow you to adapt all materials for your school's specific context and priorities

Ideal for SENCOs, inclusion leaders, pupil premium champions, designated teachers for looked-after children, and deputy or assistant heads with responsibility for  inclusion, whether preparing for inspection, reviewing provision or planning next steps for school improvement.

🔎 Want a closer look? Click here to preview the audit pack🔗 

👉 This audit pack is part of our Complete School Leadership Audit Set, which includes eleven audits in one purchase, saving you money whilst ensuring you can evaluate your entire school provision across all Ofsted evaluation areas plus plus three essential good practice audits.

🔒 Fully aligned with Ofsted 2025 School Inspection Toolkit

This Headteacher's Report to Governors template is ideal for school leaders who are seeking a little extra support when considering what to include in their termly report to the governing body and how to best present information about the school's successes and challenges. 

The HT report to governors template is carefully structured so you can report back to your governing board and give them an overview across a wide range of areas, including:

• A summary of the term
• Pupil information, including numbers on roll, leavers, admissions and details of those in receipt of pupil premium (free school meals)
• Attendance
• SEND and Inclusion
• Safeguarding, behaviour and welfare, including suspensions, exclusions and bullying
• Curriculum and teaching, including outcomes from monitoring and staff CPD
• School improvement visits
• Staffing and personnel updates
• Health and safety 

The 15-page template is fully editable, so you can add or remove details depending on your school's context.

Ensuring that your governors know the school well is a vital part of the leadership and management of any setting. As such, this template can also be found as part of our Reports to Governors Template Bundle and our Ofsted Preparation Pack, which support school leaders with understanding and preparing for the inspection process. A separate Annual Safeguarding Report to Governors template is also available to help you to work effectively with your governing board.

🔒 Fully aligned with the Ofsted 2025 School Inspection Toolkit

Streamline your school improvement journey with practical tools designed specifically for headteachers, senior leaders and school improvement teams. This detailed pack provides everything you need to create robust self-evaluation forms, strategic improvement plans and post-Ofsted action plans that drive meaningful change.

What you'll get:

• Complete 24-page Self-Evaluation Form template aligned to the 2025 Ofsted framework with guided support commentary, plus editable Ofsted Grade Descriptor Grids
• Ready-to-use School Improvement Plan template plus comprehensive checklist to ensure the key SIP areas are covered
  
• CPD Plan and Cycle templates with Staff Confidence Survey to support improvement and staff development
• Headteacher's Report to Governors template for report to the governing board
• Pupil, Parent, Staff and Governor Question Bank for gathering stakeholder voice
• Step-by-step 34-page guidance covering all aspects of school improvement planning with practical examples and reflection prompts

Perfect for: Headteachers, deputy heads, assistant heads, and senior leadership teams leading whole-school improvement initiatives. Especially valuable for leaders who are new to writing a SEF or a SIP, and schools preparing for inspection, implementing new improvement strategies, or responding to Ofsted framework changes.

🔎 Want a closer look? Click here to preview the update pack🔗 

A key responsibility for headteachers and principals in schools is to support the wellbeing of your staff team... but what about you and your own wellbeing? You don't need us to tell you that the pressures of school leadership can often feel overwhelming but our FREE Headteacher Wellbeing Audit and Action Plan is here to help. Designed with the unique challenges of headship in mind, this tool helps you take stock of what or who is currently supporting you in a professional capacity and where there could be room for development to improve your wellbeing in school. It's perfect for heads, executive heads, school principals or anyone leading a school to use as a self-reflection tool, as well as being useful for trust leaders, CEOs, governors, trustees or anyone line managing a headteacher to utilise as part of a full support package.