Key Questions turns the evidence base into a self-evaluation tool. You answer a series of targeted diagnostic questions about one inspection category, and your answers are evaluated against what published reports show at each grade level.
How does the grade benchmark work?
The questions for each category are designed around the distinctions that actually separate grades in published reports. Your answers are assessed against the evidence inspectors cited at each level, and the tool returns a likely grade together with a written explanation of what the evidence suggests and why.
The explanation is the point. A grade on its own is not actionable; a paragraph telling you which of your answers pulled the judgement down, and what reports at the grade above typically describe, is.
Is this a mock inspection?
No, and it is not designed to be. It supports self-evaluation by giving you a structured, evidence-referenced read on where a category currently sits. It does not replicate an inspection, and it cannot see your school.
Key Questions is available to subscribers
Full access is £49 a year for your school, including three users. Additional users from £15 a year each. A free account gives you the core data views and the weekly email digest.
Frequently asked questions
How can I self-evaluate against the new Ofsted framework?
Key Questions provides targeted diagnostic questions for each inspection category under the November 2025 framework. Your answers are evaluated against evidence from published inspection reports at each grade, returning a likely grade with a written explanation.
Is the predicted grade the grade Ofsted would award?
No. It is an evidence-referenced indication designed to support self-evaluation, based on how your answers compare to what inspectors recorded at each grade in published reports. It does not replicate an inspection and carries no official standing.