The Department for Education has made the Coasting Schools (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1120), updating how “coasting” is determined under section 60B of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. The instrument was signed on 23 October 2025, laid before Parliament on 27 October 2025, and comes into force on 17 November 2025. It replaces regulation 4 of the 2022 Regulations with a new definition tied to Ofsted inspection outcomes. The Minister for School Standards, Georgia Gould, is the signatory.
The test has two parts. First, a school must meet at least one of the specified entry routes. Second, following the inspections that triggered entry, the school must not yet have met the statutory exit test. The Regulations extend to England and Wales but apply to schools in England. By virtue of section 2B(6) of the Academies Act 2010, the coasting definition applies to academies on the same basis as to maintained schools.
Entry route A concerns leadership and governance. A school enters coasting status if a section 5 inspection awards “needs attention” in leadership and governance and, in the previous section 5 inspection-or, if there is no previous inspection, in the most recent section 5 inspection of a linked predecessor-the Chief Inspector made a relevant assessment indicating prior concern. This route is designed to catch repeat weaknesses in leadership and governance, including across reorganisation.
Entry route B applies where a school has just moved out of a statutory category of concern. If the latest section 5 report includes a statement under section 13(4) or 13(5) of the Education Act 2005 confirming that special measures or significant improvement are no longer required, does not include a statement under section 13(3)(b) that such a category now applies, and still records lower-level performance-namely “needs attention” in any evaluation area or “requires improvement” as described by the date rules-the school is treated as coasting on exit from the category.
Entry routes C and D capture repeated “requires improvement”. Where a section 5 inspection on or after 2 September 2024 grades either the quality of education or leadership and management as “requires improvement”, and there was a relevant assessment at the previous section 5 inspection (or in a linked predecessor), the school enters coasting status. The same logic applies for section 5 inspections before 2 September 2024 where the overall effectiveness grade was “requires improvement”, provided there was a relevant assessment previously.
The exit condition has two elements. First, in a subsequent inspection (section 5 or section 8) the school must receive none of the following in any evaluation area: “needs attention”, “urgent improvement”, or “not met”. Second, the school must achieve stronger grades at a section 5 inspection: for inspections on or after 2 September 2024, “outstanding” or “good” in both the quality of education and leadership and management; for inspections before that date, “outstanding” or “good” for overall effectiveness.
“Relevant assessment” is defined in the Regulations. It includes any prior statement under section 13(3)(b) of the Education Act 2005 that a school requires special measures or significant improvement; a previous “needs attention” in leadership and governance; a “requires improvement” in the key judgement of quality of education or leadership and management where the inspection was on or after 2 September 2024; or, for inspections before that date, a “satisfactory” or “requires improvement” overall effectiveness grade.
The Regulations define “linked school” to maintain continuity through structural change. In relation to a school (“School A”), a linked school is any predecessor that was discontinued and replaced by School A; if there are multiple predecessors, each is linked. If there is only one predecessor and it has not had a section 5 inspection, the most recent school in the predecessor chain that did have a section 5 inspection is treated as linked. This ensures inspection history follows successor institutions.
Section 5 and section 8 inspections are those under the Education Act 2005. Section 8 activity can help satisfy the first limb of the exit test by confirming that no evaluation area is graded “needs attention”, “urgent improvement”, or “not met”. However, the stronger judgements needed to complete exit-“outstanding” or “good”, as specified by the date rules-must be secured at a section 5 inspection.
Designation as “coasting” makes a school eligible for intervention under Part 4 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 once the governing body is notified. The Department for Education records that no full impact assessment has been produced, on the basis that no impact on business is foreseen. For governing boards and academy trusts, the operational focus should be on strengthening leadership and governance, improving the quality of education, and ensuring safeguarding is met, particularly where previous inspection findings or predecessor histories could satisfy an entry route.