Boarding schools will no longer be given time to prepare for Ofsted inspections examining student welfare, the watchdog has announced.
Schools will not be given prior warning of inspections when welfare is inspected separately from education, Ofsted said on Thursday, as part a new framework for the sector.
The move will also see Ofsted inspectors writing to school pupils to inform them of the findings.
Previously, boarding and residential special schools were given five days' notice when pupil welfare was inspected independently from education. The introduction of the no-notice visits comes after the Munro child protection review, published last September, which recommended unannounced inspections should apply to a wider range children's services.
The new model incorporates the government's introduction of revised national minimum standards for boarding, which have been set out this September. The government hopes the new process will portray an accurate picture of the care and education schools provide.
The new inspection process is designed to capture as accurate a picture as possible of the care and education a school provides. The ultimate aim is to improve the residential experience for children.
For the first time ever, Ofsted will publish the criteria inspectors use to make their judgements on boarding schools, in the hope of providing greater transparency for schools and parents. Inspections will now be triggered by surveys of groups including pupils, parents and staff.
Miriam Rosen, Ofsted's chief inspector, said:
“The new framework is designed to help improve the education and living experience of children residing in these schools. The new introductions will better inform and involve pupils, parents and carers and placing authorities about the welfare and education provided by the school. These changes will enable those who use the service to contribute towards the inspection of their school.”
Under the new system all monitoring inspection reports will be published. Previously, only monitoring reports for inspections of education were published.