School Self-Evaluation Form (Word template)

Aligned to the Ofsted school inspection toolkit, September 2026. Save hours of setting up your self-evaluation. This editable Word form covers every grading area of the Ofsted school inspection toolkit, with the evidence descriptors built in, so leaders can concentrate on their evidence rather than on formatting.

How it works

• Choose a grade from the drop-down in each area.
• The grade cell changes colour to match the toolkit’s colour coding.
• The evidence descriptors for that grade appear automatically. Strong shows the Expected and Strong statements. Exceptional shows all three tiers.
• Bold sub-headings for descriptors within the grading are added to the evidence box, ready for leaders to complete.
• Each area has its own “Links to the school development plan” box, so you can show what you are working on in that area.

What’s included

Context section

Grading areas: Safeguarding (Met / Not met), Inclusion, Curriculum and teaching, Achievement, Attendance and behaviour, Personal development and wellbeing, Early years and Leadership and governance (Urgent improvement / Needs attention / Expected standard / Strong standard / Exceptional)

Boxes that grow as you type or paste, with no length limit

Clear on-page instructions

Important: this file contains a macro

The colour coding and automatic descriptors are powered by a small macro. It only changes text and colours inside the document and does not access your files or the internet. Word blocks macros in downloaded files by default, so please read the short “Before you start” guide included, which takes about a minute. Some school IT systems block macros entirely, so please check with your IT support before purchase.

Requirements: Microsoft Word for Windows (desktop app, macro-enabled .docm file). It will not work in Word online, Google Docs or Teams. Word for Mac may behave differently.

Please note: this is an independent resource and is not produced by, affiliated with or endorsed by Ofsted. The evidence descriptors are condensed from the published toolkit. Using the form does not guarantee any inspection outcome, and leaders should refer to the full toolkit for the official wording.