Frequently asked questions
Straight answers on how inspections and results work, how school places are given, and how to get the most out of School Signal. Can't find yours? Email [email protected].
Using School Signal
What is School Signal?
School Signal helps parents in the UK find, compare and choose a school. Every open school in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland has a page with its inspections, results, admissions history, pupils and staff, and the schools around it, so you can make a shortlist in an evening instead of a month.
Is it free?
Yes. Searching, comparing and shortlisting every school is free, for good. A free account adds named shortlists and email alerts on the schools you watch: a note when one has a new Ofsted inspection, and a weekly round-up of news, open days and admissions deadlines. Pro, at £9 a month or £90 a year including VAT, adds commute times from your home, house prices around each school, where school places are under pressure, area comparisons and shortlist export. You can cancel at any time.
Which schools are covered?
Every open school in the UK: nurseries, primaries, secondaries, all-through schools, sixth forms, special schools and independent schools. The depth of information varies by nation because each one publishes different data. England has the most, including exam results, admissions figures and Ofsted's full inspection history.
How do I compare schools?
Press Compare on any school page, or open the compare tool and add up to four schools to see them side by side: inspection grades, results, pupil numbers, admissions and, for independent schools, fees. There is a separate tool for comparing private school fees, and Pro members can compare whole areas.
Can I save schools and get alerts?
Yes, with a free account. Save schools to named lists, such as "Reception 2027", and we will email you when something changes at a school you watch: a new inspection, a new headteacher, an open day or news from the school. We also remind you 30 days, 7 days and 1 day before the admissions deadline.
Inspections
How do Ofsted grades work now?
Ofsted stopped giving schools a single overall grade (Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate) in September 2024. From November 2025 each inspected school gets a report card instead, which grades areas such as leadership, behaviour and curriculum on a five-point scale from Exceptional to Urgent improvement. We show a school's report card where it has one, and its last overall grade with the date, so you can see how recent the judgement is.
Why do some schools have no Ofsted grade?
Three common reasons. The school may be new and not yet inspected. Its latest visit may have been a report card or an ungraded inspection, neither of which gives an overall grade. Or it may be an independent school inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, which uses its own framework. Schools in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own inspectorates: Estyn, Education Scotland and the Education and Training Inspectorate.
How quickly do new inspections appear?
We check for newly published reports every day, so a new inspection usually appears within a day or two of Ofsted publishing it. If you watch the school, we email you when it does.
Results
What do Attainment 8 and Progress 8 mean?
Attainment 8 is a secondary school's average GCSE score across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice. Progress 8 compares those results with pupils nationally who had similar results at the end of primary school: zero is average, above zero is better than expected. Progress 8 is not being published for 2025 or 2026, because those pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests during the pandemic.
What do primary school results show?
For primaries, the key figure is the share of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, with reading and maths scores alongside. We show each school against its council and England, and year by year, so you can see whether it is improving.
Are there league tables for Wales and Scotland?
Not official ones. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland do not publish school performance tables. Our Welsh council pages compare every school on Estyn's reports, the language of teaching and the school's intake, and school pages across the UK show everything each government does publish.
Admissions
How do you work out my chances of a place?
Most oversubscribed state schools give places by distance once looked-after children, siblings and any faith or other priorities are placed. Councils publish how far places went each year, and we show that history on every school page. The catchment checker compares your home with those distances for every nearby school. It is a guide, not a guarantee: the distance moves with each year's applicants.
When are the admissions deadlines?
In England, apply through your council by 31 October for a secondary place starting the following September, and by 15 January for a reception place. Offers come on 1 March for secondary and 16 April for primary. Councils in Wales and Scotland set their own dates. Every council has a page on School Signal with its dates and a countdown.
Does School Signal decide admissions?
No. Places are given by your council or, for academies, faith and other own-admission schools, by the school under its published policy. We are independent: we are not part of Ofsted, the Department for Education or any council, and no school pays to be ranked higher.
Your data and corrections
Where does the information come from?
From official, published sources: the government's register of schools, the inspectorates' reports, the Department for Education's performance and admissions statistics, and the equivalent data in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, plus school websites for news and open days. Each school page credits its sources.
I have spotted a mistake. How do I report it?
Email [email protected] with the school's name and what is wrong, and we will check it. If the error is in an official dataset we will flag it on our side while it is corrected at source. Schools can claim their page for free to update their own details.