Back when I worked firmly IN both primary and secondary education (not on the edges as I do with coaching), as well as for the local authority, the word Ofsted could send the whole building into a spin. It was not uncommon in some places to see staff sprinting down corridors, falling-down displays propped up with hope and goodwill, and a sudden urge for people to wear their best ‘I’m calm but don’t talk to me’ face.

I even remember once being asked to essentially try and stay 10 steps ahead of the inspector and warn stressed-out teachers as to their next move like it was a high-stakes game of chess.

It shouldn’t be like this.

But something big is coming, and I hope it’s for the better. It should be if they get it right. From November 2025, Ofsted is shifting from focusing narrowly on test results and angling more to include wellbeing, inclusion, attendance, and safeguarding at the fore and core. These are areas I’ve in worked in across the years and as such I say ‘Hoorah! About bloody time!’

Why Wellbeing Is No Longer Optional

The facts are clear and have been for too long. More young people than ever are struggling with mental health, anxiety, and showing up for school at all. A few data points for you:-

• 1 in 5 children has a probable mental health disorder
• 170,000+ students are severely absent
• 60% of teens miss school due to anxiety
• Staff stress is at an all time high
• Schools are trying to hold it all together with limited funding, stretched teams, and rising expectations.

Reality is, it’s a perfect storm.

The shift in the new framework is a powerful step in recognising that children can’t learn if they’re not feeling safe, supported, or seen. This isn’t about them being 100% happy and singing and dancing through rainbow skies wearing rose tinted glasses with a can of ginger beer saying ‘We’ve all had a wonderful time’, but making it bearable enough that each in their own way is able to access the educational setting that they deserve to learn and develop in.

Sir Martyn Oliver (HMCI) said ‘If schools get it right for the most vulnerable… they get it right for all pupils.’ Let’s hope the Ofsted framework works then because as a well-used phrase once said, ‘Every Child Matters’. Connection and Culture over Correction and Control any day, surely?

What’s Actually Changing Though?

• No more single-word judgements. Out with ‘Inadequate’. It’s now replaced with a 5-point report card. Personally, I’m not sure how I feel about ‘report card’ as a name, but if disposing of single-word judgements stops generalisations about settings and can prevent tragic cases such as Headteacher Ruth Perry’s death, it has to be a good thing.
• Wellbeing & Inclusion are standalone areas of inspection demonstrating a clearer focus on these areas.
• Attendance will consider context. I say ‘Not soon enough’. I’ve worked with students that WANT to be in school, and have previously (in a former life) had battles with schools coding students incorrectly because ‘it makes us look better’ – OK, at what cost to the individual though? In some instances, codes were used to hide what was happening, and yes, I appreciate a lot of this came down to the pressure from ‘The Big O’ above.
• Safeguarding gets clearer, graded across six key areas, as it should.
• Staff wellbeing is officially on the radar (finally). Some schools are doing amazing things for staff wellbeing on a shoestring, but if all of our teachers and support staff across the country are to be emotionally available for our students, they need to be emotionally supported themselves more than simply having an outside organisation asking them to complete an ‘anonymous’ survey about how they feel about the photocopier (I’ve seen it).

Ofsted claims this isn’t about ticking new boxes, but about building the kind of better environment where every young person has a greater chance to flourish, and I hope, pray, and keep my fingers crossed that this will be the case.

So Where Does Coaching Fit In?

Because it does. I had to link it in to the article, right? Let’s be honest, I’m not here to sell magic wands to anybody. If you’re a headteacher or staff member reading this, you know your school better than anyone, and I’m not going to preach to you, but I’d like to share waht I’ve seen work from my perspective.

I’ve seen first-hand over the years how coaching can benefit young people, although schools are highly stretched to provide it at the level required. Again, I’ve been the person trying to coach through a situation with only two minutes between lessons.

More recently, having become an NLP practitioner, I’ve seen how NLP-based coaching can really help schools support students with anxiety, disengagement, low confidence, and tricky transitions, sometimes in just a few sessions. One of the quickest lightbulb moments I’ve had with somebody was 15 minutes!

Coaching is a great option because it’s forward-focused, non-stigmatising, and faster to access than waiting for some other external services or CAMHS (where let’s be honest, a child could have left school before they even reach them properly such that their services are stretched).

*Caveat, I’m not saying I replace CAMHS in the slightest, far from it, but as one parent put it earlier this year, ‘You’re the glue holding us together til we can actually get there’.

What coaching provides is:

• A space for students to find their voice
• A tool to help staff avoid burnout
• A bridge between ‘they’re struggling’ and ‘they’re back on track’

Coaching doesn’t replace counselling services, or pastoral support, and I wouldn’t want it to. It shouldn’t. It’s there to work alongside school processes and add capacity to already overstretched systems. As a school counsellor said to me recently, coaching and counselling can work in good harmony within a school because their approaches are different allowing more to access support.

The Reality…

You can have the best curriculum, the fanciest displays, and still lose pupils to anxiety, trauma, disconnection, or chaos at home. I’ve seen it first hand. You have.

The schools that thrive are the ones that make room for the messy stuff, that don’t see wellbeing as a bolt-on, that put wellbeing at the core. Wellbeing is the beating heart and soul of a school and I’ve been in some amazing schools across the country this year from Yorkshire to Dorset, where I’ve walked in and immediately known they’ve got it right because it’s permeating from the corridors, and even the staff room is alive with excited chatter at break.

Success isn’t just about grades. It’s about supporting our growing humans, whether they’re tiny knee-highs in primary or towering over you in secondary.

If you’re curious about how NLP coaching could support your school (without adding pressure or cost overload), drop me a message. Happy to share my white paper or have a chat.

Let’s build schools where everyone thrives, staff included.