How Starlight’s Constellation Dashboard Prepares Schools for Ofsted’s New Inspection Framework

The new report cards will assess schools across up to 11 distinct areas, depending on the institution's offerings.

From November 2025, Ofsted inspections will look very different. Gone are the single-word overall judgements. In their place come multi-category report cards, richer narratives, and a sharper focus on how schools support the ongoing development of teaching.

For school leaders, this marks both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge: evidence will need to be broader, more detailed, and more dynamic. The opportunity: schools can finally showcase strengths and growth in ways that a single grade never allowed.

This is where Starlight’s Constellation Dashboard comes in.

From Snapshots to Continuous Evidence

The old framework reduced years of work to a single headline judgement. The new framework expects a more nuanced picture: evidence of curriculum quality, teaching practice, leadership impact, and staff development.

The Constellation Dashboard is built precisely for this. It aggregates live data from lesson uploads, updating weekly, so leaders can see real-time trends across teaching and learning. No more waiting for a one-off observation cycle. Schools can show inspectors a living, breathing evidence base that charts development over time.

Evidence at Your Fingertips

Under the new framework, Ofsted inspections won’t rely on “deep dives.” Instead, inspectors will use broader evidence-gathering methods—extended learning walks, collaborative dialogue, and school-wide context analysis.

Constellation equips leaders for this shift. Its drill-down tools allow you to explore curriculum dialogue, feedback quality, and staff engagement patterns in real time. The reflective questions surface insight that links directly to school improvement priorities, giving leaders a structured narrative for conversations with inspectors.

Instead of scrambling to collate evidence in the run-up to inspection, schools have a living record of practice and progress—already organised, transparent, and ready to share.

Building the Culture Inspectors Want to See

Ofsted’s shift reflects a deeper truth: improvement depends on instructional coaching and quick cycles of feedback. Starlight makes this possible. Constellation makes this visible.

• Reflection logs allow leaders to track how staff are engaging with feedback.

• Engagement metrics show patterns of usage across departments or year groups.

• Impact cycles highlight incremental progress.

This isn’t about surveillance; it’s about empowering staff and demonstrating that professional growth is embedded, regular, and sustained.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

The consultation period has closed, and the framework is due to go live on 3 November 2025. By then, every school will need to be inspection-ready under the new rules. Constellation is designed to be future-proof: category headings and analysis will reflect Ofsted’s finalised criteria, while continuing to provide clear, trustworthy insight.

In short, Constellation doesn’t just help schools meet the framework. It helps them get ahead of it—showing a culture of reflection, evidence-based improvement, and staff engagement that Ofsted is explicitly looking for.

A Final Thought

When the new report cards land, schools won’t want to rely on anecdote or hurried paperwork. They’ll want data that shows teaching is improving, leadership is responsive, and professional development is working.

That’s exactly what Constellation delivers:

• Live data on teaching trends

• Structured evidence for inspections and improvement conversations

• Logs of reflection and incremental progress

• Clear insight for governors, MAT CEOs, and Ofsted

With Starlight, schools can walk into the new inspection era not just prepared—but confident.

📩 To find out more about how Constellation can support your school, get in touch at info@starlightmentor.com.

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The Insight Engine is written by Adam Sturdee, co-founder of Starlight—the UK’s first AI-powered coaching platform—and Assistant Headteacher at St Augustine’s Catholic College. This blog is part of a wider mission to support educators through meaningful reflection, not performance metrics. It documents the journey of building Starlight from the ground up, and explores how AI, when shaped with care, can reduce workload, surface insight, and help teachers think more deeply about their practice. Rooted in the belief that growth should be private, professional, and purposeful, The Insight Engine offers ideas and stories that put insight—not judgment—at the centre of development.