Ofsted Inspection Preparation Questions for Governors and Trustees

🔒 Fully aligned to the 2025 School Inspection Toolkit

Help your governors walk into the Ofsted governor meeting with the lead inspector ready to answer with confidence.

This 38-page editable document is a structured rehearsal tool for governing boards, organised around all nine evaluation areas of the 2025 School Inspection Toolkit.

You'll get:

☑️ Inspector-style questions across all nine evaluation areas – safeguarding, inclusion, curriculum and teaching, achievement, attendance and behaviour, personal development and well-being, leadership and governance, early years and post-16 provision – phrased as inspectors are likely to ask them in the governance meeting

☑️ "What the inspector is exploring" column – grounded in the expected standard descriptors from the 2025 toolkit, so governors understand the purpose behind each question, not just the question itself

☑️ Tips for answering – practical guidance on how to approach each question, including which governor role or committee is most likely to hold the relevant knowledge

The template is a fully editable Word .docx so you can adapt it for your school's specific context.

Ideal for headteachers leading governor preparation sessions, chairs of governors and governance professionals preparing boards for a Section 5 inspection.

👉 This template is also available in the Governors Ofsted Inspection Preparation Bundle, which also contains a ready-made governor update PowerPoint and governor guidance to help your governing body feels prepared for Ofsted inspection.