New coasting schools rules in England from 17 Nov 2025
If you lead, teach at, or attend a school in England, the legal test for when a school is labelled “coasting” is about to change. The Department for Education made the new rules on 23 October 2025 and laid them before Parliament on 27 October 2025. They come into force on 17 November 2025. We’ll walk you through what that means in plain English so you can plan with confidence.
“Coasting” is not a casual nickname; it is a legal label under section 60B of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. It matters because it can open the door to intervention and support from government. These 2025 amendments replace the 2022 definition and tie the label more directly to Ofsted inspection findings, including grades used since 2 September 2024.
Under the new rules, a school enters coasting status if it meets one of several entry conditions and then does not meet the exit condition after the inspections that triggered entry. Think of it as two steps: first, a trigger based on inspection evidence; second, a check that the school has not yet achieved the standard needed to leave the label behind.
One route into coasting focuses on leadership. If, in a full Ofsted inspection (a “section 5 inspection”), the Chief Inspector gives the school a grade of “needs attention” specifically in the evaluation area of leadership and governance, and a relevant assessment was made in the previous section 5 inspection (or in a linked school if there isn’t a previous one), the school can be classed as coasting. The policy logic here is simple: weak leadership signals risk to sustained improvement.
Another route applies when a school has recently come out of the most serious categories. If the latest section 5 report includes the statutory statement that special measures are not required or that the school does not require significant improvement, and there is no statement that special measures or significant improvement are required, the school can still enter coasting if inspectors also recorded either “needs attention” in any evaluation area, “requires improvement” in key judgements made on or after 2 September 2024, or “satisfactory”/“requires improvement” for overall effectiveness in inspections before that date. In short, exiting special measures is good news, but the system still expects momentum.
For inspections on or after 2 September 2024, a further entry route is getting “requires improvement” in the key judgement of quality of education or in leadership and management, combined with a relevant assessment in the previous section 5 inspection (or in a linked school’s most recent section 5 inspection if there is no previous one). This ties the definition to the areas that most directly shape classroom experience.
For inspections before 2 September 2024, the comparable route is a grade of “requires improvement” for overall effectiveness, again coupled with a relevant assessment in the previous section 5 inspection or in a linked school. This makes sure older inspection outcomes are read fairly alongside the newer framework.
You’ll notice the phrase “relevant assessment” appears throughout. In these Regulations, it means one of a small set of inspection findings made previously: the statutory statement that a school requires special measures or significant improvement; a “needs attention” grade for leadership and governance; a “requires improvement” in quality of education or leadership and management for inspections on or after 2 September 2024; or, for earlier inspections, an overall effectiveness grade of “satisfactory” or “requires improvement”. The idea is to look at the current picture and the recent record together.
There is also an important safeguard against “resetting” history by closing and reopening. The Regulations define a “linked school” so that, if your school replaced a predecessor, inspectors and officials can look back to the most recent section 5 inspection in that chain. If there were several closures and reopenings, they trace the chain until they find the last inspected school. This is designed to keep accountability with the community of provision, not just a new nameplate.
A school stops being coasting once it meets the exit condition. That condition is met if any one of these is true: a section 5 or section 8 inspection finds none of the negative evaluation area grades (“needs attention”, “urgent improvement”, or “not met”); or, in a section 5 inspection on or after 2 September 2024, the school is “good” or “outstanding” in both quality of education and leadership and management; or, for a section 5 inspection before that date, the school’s overall effectiveness is “good” or “outstanding”. This gives schools three clear ways to evidence recovery.
What happens once a school is identified as coasting? The law allows the Department for Education to consider intervention, proportionate to need, with the aim of accelerating improvement. That might mean tighter oversight, directed support, or-where appropriate-stronger action. The headline point for staff and families is that coasting signals a system-level response to raise standards, not a judgement on every classroom.
Who is covered? Although the instrument extends to England and Wales in technical terms, it applies in relation to schools in England. By virtue of section 2B(6) of the Academies Act 2010, the definition of “coasting” applies to academies in the same way as to maintained schools. If you sit on a trust board, this is your cue to check risk and support across the whole trust, not just one site.
Key dates matter for planning. The Regulations were made on 23 October 2025, laid on 27 October 2025, and start on 17 November 2025. If you are a headteacher or governor, use the next few weeks to review your last inspection report, note any “needs attention” or “requires improvement” judgements, map any linked predecessor schools, and pressure-test your school improvement plan-especially on leadership, governance, and the quality of education.
Parents and carers often ask what this means for their child. Labels can sound alarming, but they are mostly about systems and leadership. Coasting status does not mean every class is weak. It does mean the school must show a credible plan and progress. It is reasonable to ask the school when you will see the next milestones, who is supporting the work, and how pupils’ learning time is being protected.
Students also deserve clarity. This change is about adults being accountable for the conditions that help you learn well. You may notice more visits, some timetable tweaks, or leadership changes. Keep turning up, ask for the help you need, and expect your school to involve you in improvements where it makes sense.
Finally, a quick glossary to decode the inspection terms you’ll see. A “section 5 inspection” is a full, graded inspection under the Education Act 2005. A “section 8 inspection” is a shorter or focused visit. “Key judgements” include quality of education and leadership and management. “Evaluation areas” are the specific parts inspectors grade within those judgements, including leadership and governance. Georgia Gould, the Minister for School Standards, signed these Regulations for the Department for Education on 23 October 2025, signalling that this shift is now policy, not just a proposal.