What Ofsted Expects from Staff Training in English Schools

Ofsted does not set a list of required courses or a number of training hours for school staff. According to its school inspection toolkit, inspectors look at whether leaders run a coherent professional learning programme for all staff, whether staff are well trained in safeguarding, and whether leaders take staff workload and well-being into account. This post covers state-funded schools in England, because Ofsted inspects there; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own inspectorates.

Which Ofsted documents are current in October 2026?

Ofsted introduced a renewed education inspection framework and new report cards from November 2025. Under it, schools are evaluated on a set of named evaluation areas and the old single overall effectiveness grade was removed. According to the framework page on GOV.UK, the evaluation areas for schools are:

• safeguarding
• inclusion
• curriculum and teaching
• achievement
• attendance and behaviour
• personal development and wellbeing
• early years (where applicable)
• post-16 provision (where applicable)
• leadership and governance

Ofsted publishes the detail in a school inspection toolkit and operating guides rather than in a single handbook. The GOV.UK page for the toolkit records that new versions were published on 12 June 2026 and come into force in September 2026, with the most recent update on 28 August 2026. The toolkit PDF is headed “Updated: June 2026 (v2.0) For use on inspections from 7 September 2026”. That is the version in use now. The version used from November 2025 is archived, so check you are reading the current one if you use older guidance or a consultancy’s summary.

Ofsted’s own summary of changes for September 2026 does not list professional development, training, workload or staff wellbeing as changed topics. Its changes are mainly about leadership and governance arrangements, safeguarding checks and inclusion.

What the toolkit says about staff development

There is no separate “CPD” evaluation area. Staff development sits inside leadership and governance. The toolkit describes the factors inspectors focus on there. One of them is “having a coherent professional learning programme for all staff that is rooted in a culture of purposeful collaboration”, one that “focuses on building collective expertise and enables expert teaching across all subjects and phases”.

In plain terms, inspectors are not counting certificates. They are asking whether training is planned, connected to what pupils need, and shared across the staff team rather than left to individuals. Training that is a collection of one-off courses with no link to the school’s curriculum or priorities is harder to defend than a programme that clearly follows the school’s own improvement priorities.

The wording says “all staff”, so the programme is not only for teachers. Support staff, including teaching assistants, are within scope. If you want background on support staff development, see our guide to teaching assistant qualifications and CPD.

Staff workload and well-being

The same leadership and governance section includes workload and well-being. According to the toolkit, inspectors consider “leaders taking into account the workload and well-being of their staff”, and “the responsible body taking into account the workload and well-being of leaders”. The responsible body is the school’s governing board, trust board or equivalent.

This matters for training design. A programme that adds meetings and tasks without taking anything away is not obviously supporting workload. The toolkit does not set a number of hours, but it does expect leaders to think about the effect of their decisions on staff.

The operating guide for inspectors, for use from September 2026, also shows inspectors check on wellbeing during the inspection itself. It tells them to check with leaders on their wellbeing and the wellbeing of other staff before activities begin each day, and to discuss staff wellbeing with the headteacher and nominee in reflection meetings. It also points leaders to the charity Education Support for wellbeing support.

Safeguarding training

Safeguarding is graded separately, as “met” or “not met”, rather than on the standard scale used for most other areas. The toolkit’s safeguarding section expects that everyone who works with pupils is trained well in supporting them to be safer, and that staff understand the signs of harm and respond through the school’s systems.

The operating guide tells inspectors to “look for evidence of effective safeguarding training and practice and the impact of this on pupils”. On the first day, inspectors meet a group of staff selected at random to discuss safeguarding. So the test is not only whether training happened, but whether a member of staff you did not choose can explain what they would do and who they would tell.

The detailed statutory duties on staff training come from the Department for Education’s Keeping children safe in education, not from Ofsted. For the annual training cycle, see our post on Keeping Children Safe in Education annual staff training.

Early career teachers

The operating guide also covers newly qualified teachers. When engaging with early career teachers, inspectors are told to consider “how the school makes sure that they have access to training under the early career framework”. If your school has early career teachers, this is one place where training is checked directly. Our explainer on the Early Career Framework and ECT induction covers what that entitlement involves.

Quick reference

What evidence helps

The operating guide says inspectors may review key records, and these may include training records. It also says staff are not expected to bring documents to meetings. Inspectors also analyse anonymous staff questionnaire responses and meet staff to talk about their experience of working at the school. Pulling this together, a practical approach is:

• Keep a simple training plan that shows why each piece of training is there and who it is for.
• Keep accurate records of who completed safeguarding and other mandatory training, and when.
• Link training to priorities in the school improvement plan, so the programme reads as coherent.
• Check workload when planning, and be able to say what was removed or simplified.
• Ask staff whether training is useful. Their questionnaire answers are part of the evidence.

Our CPD hub has more general guidance on planning and recording professional development.

Frequently asked questions

Does Ofsted require a set number of CPD hours for teachers?

The toolkit and operating guide passages we reviewed do not set a number of hours or a list of courses. It describes a coherent professional learning programme for all staff and expects leaders to consider workload.

Does Ofsted still give an overall effectiveness grade?

No. According to Ofsted, overall effectiveness grades were removed from November 2025. Evaluation areas are graded individually, and safeguarding is graded met or not met.

Which Ofsted document should I use?

Use the state-funded schools inspection toolkit and the operating guides for use from September 2026, all linked from the school inspection toolkit page on GOV.UK. Independent schools and early years and further education providers have their own toolkits.

Is this the same in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

No. Ofsted inspects in England. Other nations have their own inspectorates and frameworks, so check the relevant one.

Are teaching assistants and other support staff included?

The toolkit wording refers to a professional learning programme for “all staff”, and safeguarding applies to everyone who works with pupils.

In summary

Ofsted does not ask for a particular amount of training. It asks whether staff learning is coherent, whether safeguarding training works in practice, and whether leaders keep workload and well-being in view. Read the current toolkit directly, as it is updated each year.

This article is general information for schools in England and is not regulatory or compliance advice. Always check the current Ofsted documents and DfE statutory guidance for your own situation.