Guidance
Ofsted: explore an area is a web-based tool that allows you to explore information about schools and childcare providers where you live and work, alongside other data that gives you an idea of what it is like to be a child growing up in that area. You can use it to see where Ofsted inspects to inform your decisions about providers and get a better idea of how a local area compares nationally.
How to search the guidance
Click on Ctrl + F, or Command + F on a Mac. This will open a search box in the top right-hand corner of the page. Type the word you are looking for in the search bar and press enter.
The word will then be highlighted in yellow wherever it appears in the guidance. Click on the 'enter' key to move to the next word found.
Data information
The Ofsted: explore an area tool shows which release of data the information is based on. See the data sources page for information about the dataset including description, link and how frequently the dataset is updated.
The percentages in all tables and charts in the Ofsted: explore an area tool are rounded and may not add to 100%.
Data protection
When accessing the data in the Ofsted: explore an area tool, you must always comply with the Data Protection Act 2018. The Data Protection Act 2018 is the UK's implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You must ensure that your use of the data to which you have access is consistent with the purpose for which the service was set up and that you do not use the data for any other purpose. You must ensure that the data is processed securely and that it is not subject to any unauthorised use or disclosure.
Missing data
There are a few possible reasons why data may not be shown for a particular measure.
In text, charts or tables, data may not be shown because:
- the measure did not exist, was defined differently or was not available to Ofsted; if this is the case, the data is shown as a dash
- the provider may have recently changed as a legal entity (for example, a school may have become an academy)
Using this tool
Landing/search page
When accessing Ofsted: explore an area, you will be taken to a landing page with a search function. Here you can choose whether to search for a provider by their name or postcode or search for a local authority.
To search for a provider
To search for a provider by their name or postcode, start typing the name of the provider or postcode and a drop-down box will appear, allowing you to select from the results. Select from the drop-down box and then press the green Search button. You will be taken to the ‘Find schools and childcare providers map’ page.
To search for a local authority
To search for a local authority, select the button that says ‘Local authority’. Start typing the name of the local authority and a drop-down box will appear allowing you to select from the results. Select from the drop-down box and then press the green Search button. You will be taken to the local authority page.
Find schools and childcare providers map page
Use this page to search for schools and childcare providers in England. You can search by postcode or by provider name, then view the results on a map or in a list.
Search for a provider or postcode
Enter a provider name or postcode in the search box.
If you search for a provider:
- your provider will appear as a blue pin on the map
- other providers within a 5-mile radius (shown in blue) will appear as coloured pins – the legend for these pins is above the map
If you search for a postcode:
- the blue pin will mark the centre of the postcode
- other providers within a 5-mile radius (shown in blue) will appear as coloured pins
If you want to search for another postcode or provider, use the search box at the top of the page. Navigate to a new area by dragging the map and clicking the ‘Search this area’ button to the top right of the map.
Provider pop-ups
On the provider pop-ups that appear when you click on the provider pin, you can view key information about that provider.
The details shown will depend on the type of provider.
The following information is shown for all providers:
- provider name
- education phase
- local authority – includes a link to the local authority page on Ofsted: explore an area
- Ofsted reports – opens in a new tab
Additional information if it exists or relevant:
- graded inspection information including date, overall effectiveness and subgrades
- ungraded inspection information including date and outcome
- academy trust
Change your search radius
You can adjust how far the search extends from your postcode or provider. To do this:
- use the drop-down menu at the top left of the map
- choose from: 1, 5, 10, or 20 miles
View your results as a list
You can view your results as a list instead of a map.
To do this, select the ‘List’ view tab at the top of the map.
If you searched for a provider, it will appear first in the list. Other providers are shown in order of increasing distance.
To return to the map, click the Map view tab.
Refine your results with filters
To narrow your search, click ‘Change my map pins’ (top left of the map).
Select filters such as:
- early education
- education phase
- faith schools
- school type
Click the green ‘Apply selected filters to your search’ button.
Add map overlays
You can add different overlays to your map to view totals and key information.
Click ‘Add map overlays’ (to the left of the map) and choose the data you want to display.
Select from the available overlays, which include:
- total number of schools (shown at middle layer super output area (MSOA), local authority and region level)
- schools by type (shown at MSOA, local authority and region level) – nursery, primary, secondary, special and registered alternative provision
- total childcare providers (MSOA only) – includes childminders, pre-schools/day nurseries/out-of-school care and nannies
- total number of children’s homes (local authority only)
- percentage of children in income-deprived families (IDACI value) (MSOA only)
Click the green ‘Apply selected filters to your search’ button.
The overlay information will be displayed underneath the legend just above the map.
Create your list of providers
You can build a list of providers you are interested in.
To do this, click a provider pin on the map. In the pop-up box, select the green ‘Add to my list’ button. You can find your list below the map.
You can add up to five providers. Once the limit is reached, no more can be added. You can remove providers from your list by clicking the red ‘Remove’ button.
View your list
Once you have added all the providers you are interested in, navigate to the bottom of the ‘My list’ section and select the green 'Go to my list' button. This will take you to the My list' page.
My list page
On the ‘My list’ page, you can view the providers you have added from the map. You will find key information about each provider, to help you review them.
The details shown will depend on the type of provider.
The following information is shown for all providers:
- provider name
- education phase
- age range (or ‘Early Years Care’ for early years)
- local authority – includes a link to the local authority page on Ofsted: explore an area
- Ofsted reports – opens in a new tab
The following additional information is shown if it exists or is relevant:
- graded inspection information, including date, overall effectiveness and subgrades
- ungraded inspection information, including date and outcome
- academy trust
Returning to the map
To return to the map page, select ‘Map’ from the breadcrumbs or use the back button in your browser.
Local authority pages
This page provides an overview of information for a specific local authority. The name of the local authority is at the top of the page. Just below this, you will find key details such as the Office for National Statistics code (opens in new tab) for the authority and the name of the current director of children’s services.
Navigating the local authority page
A contents section lets you jump quickly to different parts of the page. These are:
- summary of Ofsted findings
- local authority children’s services inspection (ILACS)
- area SEND inspection
- joint targeted area inspection (JTAI)
- links to Ofsted inspection reports and tools
- local authority context
- additional information by Ofsted remit
- early years
- schools
- further education and skills
- social care
Each section provides information about the local authority and its services for children and young people, helping you get both a high-level overview and more detailed breakdowns where needed.
Data sources links: Underneath every dataset to the right there is a link called ‘Data sources’. This link will take you to another page where you can find out where the data came from. It includes the publisher of the data, the publication date, a brief description and a link to the external data source, if applicable.
More details: Under some data tables on the left, we have a drop-down box that provides more details on the data source.
Back to the top of the section: At various points on the page, you will find links that say back to the top of the section. These will take you back to the top of section, as described. So, for example, if you’re in the local authority context section, clicking the link will return you to the top of that section, not to the top of the page.
How to print the local authority page
You can print a local authority page directly from your web browser (for example, by pressing Ctrl + P). Before printing, select the tabs you want included.
For best results, print in landscape orientation.
We also recommend viewing or printing the data sources page to check publication dates.