Ofsted has recently updated the Education Inspection Framework, moving away from the previous Intent → Implementation → Impact model. Under the 2025 Education Inspection Framework (EIF), schools are evaluated across six clearly defined areas:
- Curriculum & Teaching
- AchievementPersonal Development & Well-Being
- Inclusion
- Attendance & Behaviour
- Leadership & Governance.
Safeguarding is judged separately as met or not met.
Well-designed, bespoke school wall art is more than decoration – it can provide tangible evidence of curriculum implementation, as well as student wellbeing and behaviour strategies, helping schools demonstrate strengths in these inspection areas.
Keep reading to learn more about the importance of school learning environments and how bespoke wall art can help your school meet the expectations of the new Education Inspection Framework. At Design for Education, we create fully bespoke, high-quality educational wall art designed to help your school align with the expectations of the new EIF.
Why The School Environment Matters For Learning
A 2015 research project, ‘Clever Classrooms’, conducted by the University of Salford, found that well-designed classrooms can boost primary school students’ learning progress by up to 16% in a single year. This is equivalent to an additional 1.3 sub‑levels of national curriculum progress in reading, writing and maths.
The study emphasises that neither cluttered classrooms nor bare “white box” spaces are effective learning environments.
Key Findings:
- Wall displays should be purposeful and well-balanced – overly busy displays can overstimulate students, while bare walls can feel disengaging.
- Large, accessible wall areas provide flexibility for displaying key concepts, definitions and worked examples.
- Effective classrooms typically use no more than 50–80% of available wall space for displays, leaving 20–50% clear to avoid visual overload.
- Well-organised displays support focus better than walls filled with unstructured posters or decoration.
- Devoting some wall space to student-created work increases students’ sense of ownership and belonging.
- Distinctive corridor and junction displays help students orient themselves around the school and reduce an institutional feel.
This study reinforces the broader idea that every element in a classroom, including wall displays, feeds into students’ learning experience and behaviour. School wall art isn’t just decorative – it can be a part of behaviour management and classroom culture.
What Ofsted’s 2025 Education Inspection Framework Means For Schools
Ofsted’s new Education Inspection Framework evaluates schools across six main areas:
- Curriculum & Teaching
- Achievement
- Personal Development & Wellbeing
- Inclusion
- Attendance & Behaviour
- Leadership & Governance
Each area is rated on a five-point scale: Exceptional, Strong Standard, Expected Standard, Needs Attention or Urgent Improvement. Safeguarding is assessed separately and is judged as met or not met.
This approach moves away from a single headline judgement and instead encourages schools to provide clear, specific evidence for each area of inspection, giving a more rounded and detailed picture of strengths and priorities for improvement.
From Three “I”s To Six Evaluation Areas: What’s Changed
The move from Intent → Implementation → Impact to separate, clearly-defined evaluation areas allows inspectors to examine different aspects of school life in greater depth.
Rather than assessing curriculum through a single lens, inspectors now look more closely at how learning, behaviour, inclusion, wellbeing and leadership operate in practice. This granular structure makes it easier to identify where a school is performing strongly and where targeted development is needed, and places greater importance on visible, day-to-day evidence across the school environment.
This shift means that what inspectors see as they move through a school matters more than ever. Evidence of curriculum delivery, inclusion, behaviour and personal development is not only found in policies, but in the everyday learning environment. Purposeful classroom and corridor displays provide clear, visible evidence of how priorities are embedded across the school, making curriculum sequencing, values, wellbeing and behaviour expectations easy to understand at a glance.
How Wall Art Can Help Schools Meet the Expectations of the New Education Inspection Framework
Well-designed, bespoke wall art can be a powerful tool for demonstrating how a school meets the expectations of Ofsted’s 2025 Education Inspection Framework. By making learning visible, wall art allows schools to:
- Show curriculum sequencing and progression clearly in every classroom and corridor.
- Embed key knowledge and vocabulary where pupils encounter it daily.
- Reinforce school values, behaviour expectations and personal development priorities in a way inspectors can see immediately.
- Highlight inclusion and accessibility, showing that learning is tailored to all pupils.
- Provide tangible, everyday evidence to support higher scores across multiple EIF evaluation areas.
At Design for Education, we work with schools across the country to design, manufacture and install bespoke wall art that supports student wellbeing, enforces behavioural expectations and reinforces key learning objectives.
How School Wall Art Supports Specific EIF Areas
| EIF Evaluation Area | How Wall Art Can Support Evidence | Examples |
| Curriculum & Teaching |
Makes key knowledge and vocabulary visible. Supports retrieval and progression. Shows the visual sequencing of learning. |
Subject-specific displays, featuring topic overviews, key definitions/ formulas, worked examples, structures/processes, diagrams and timelines. Question prompts and challenge boards. |
| Achievement |
Highlights pupil progress, milestones and learning goals. Demonstrates the standard of attainment expected. Reinforces a culture of achievement and aspiration. |
Displays of model answers or illustrative examples. Progression and mastery boards. Motivational or ethos displays. |
| Personal Development & Wellbeing |
Reinforces school values and wellbeing strategies. Makes pastoral priorities visible. |
Values boards. Mindfulness/wellbeing corners. Student “pledge” displays. Anti-bullying and kindness displays. |
| Inclusion |
Demonstrates equity, accessibility and diversity in learning. Supports a more inclusive learning environment. |
Displays celebrating different cultures, abilities and identities. Boards highlighting accessibility and disability awareness. |
| Attendance & Behaviour |
Visual reinforcement of rules, routines and expectations. Provides visual prompts for attendance targets. |
Attendance charts and trackers. Behaviour expectations boards and classroom rules. Reward walls and “positive behaviour” displays. |
| Leadership & Governance |
Shows how ethos, vision, and strategic priorities are embedded. Consistently communicates leadership objectives. |
School vision statements, leadership priorities and school values boards. Eco and community initiatives. Community engagement boards. |
Reigate School - Curriculum & Teaching
This science wall art presents the scientific method in a clear, visual, and highly accessible way, reinforcing classroom learning and demonstrating the Curriculum & Teaching element of the EIF.
Barnfield Primary School - Personal Development & Wellbeing
This core values wall display helps to encourage reflection, respect, positivity, resilience and responsibility, linking to the Personal Development & Wellbeing EIF area.
Woodhey High School - Inclusion
The ‘Just Like Me’ display celebrates famous people with a wide range of identities and disabilities, including ADHD, dyslexia, LGBTQ+ and spina bifida, promoting representation and supporting the Inclusion element of the EIF by ensuring all pupils see themselves reflected in success stories.
Uplands Junior School - Attendance & Behaviour
The positive behaviour display, featuring mottos like ‘Love Where You Live’ and ‘Be Super Kind,’ reinforces expected behaviours, promotes a respectful and caring school culture, and supports the Attendance & Behaviour element of the EIF
Heighington Millfield - Leadership & Governance
The school vision board displaying ‘At Millfield, We Are Ready, Respectful and Safe’ communicates clear expectations and school ethos, demonstrating Leadership & Governance by embedding a consistent vision across the school.
Astrea Academy Sheffield - Achievement
The ‘Climb the Mountain to Excellence’ display guides pupils from ‘I want to avoid negative consequences’ to ‘It is who I am,’ promoting personal growth, intrinsic motivation, and achievement in line with the EIF.
School Wall Art Case Studies
Reddish Vale High School
At Reddish Vale High School, the Design for Education team installed bespoke corridor wall art to transform shared spaces into purposeful environments that reinforce both the curriculum and the school’s wider values. The project included PE-focused corridor displays alongside a dedicated Values Wall highlighting the school’s core principles: Respect, Aspiration, Determination and Independence.
Together, these installations provide clear, visible evidence of how learning, behaviour and personal development are embedded throughout the school environment.
PE Corridor Wall Art
The PE corridor display showcases inspirational athletes alongside the key skills required for success in sport, including resilience, decision-making and performance analysis. By linking sporting excellence to transferable skills, the displays extend learning beyond lessons and reinforce curriculum priorities in everyday school life.
EIF Areas Supported:
- Curriculum & Teaching – Makes key PE skills and learning outcomes explicit and visible beyond the sports hall
- Achievement – Reinforces high expectations, aspiration and progression through skill development
- Personal Development & Wellbeing – Promotes resilience, perseverance and reflective thinking
Values Wall
The Values Wall clearly communicates the school’s ethos, highlighting core principles such as Respect, Aspiration, Determination and Independence. By placing these values in a high-traffic corridor, the school ensures that expectations around conduct, attitudes and learning are consistently reinforced throughout the school day. The wall acts as a visible reminder of the behaviours and mindsets pupils are expected to develop, linking directly to personal development and the broader school culture.
EIF Areas Supported:
- Personal Development & Wellbeing – Promotes character education, social-emotional learning, and positive attitudes
- Leadership & Governance – Demonstrates leadership intent and embedding of school values across the environment
- Attendance & Behaviour – Reinforces expected behaviours and supports a positive, respectful culture
- Curriculum & Teaching – Supports learning behaviours such as independence and perseverance across subjects
Eden Girls – Manchester
At Eden Girls in Manchester, bespoke classroom wall art was installed across the maths department to create curriculum-focused displays that reinforce key knowledge and make learning visible. The displays include important equations and formulas, such as the Pythagoras theorem, alongside a maths timeline display showing the progression of concepts over the curriculum, and a maths careers display highlighting pathways and opportunities linked to the subject.
By showcasing this information in a clear, engaging way, the displays help pupils connect classroom learning with real-world applications and understand the structure and purpose of the maths curriculum. The walls provide constant visual reinforcement of key concepts, skills and the relevance of maths in everyday life.
EIF Areas Supported:
- Curriculum & Teaching – Makes key knowledge, formulas and progression visible and supports retrieval and mastery
- Achievement – Reinforces aspirational outcomes by linking curriculum knowledge to practical skills and career pathways
- Personal Development & Wellbeing – Encourages confidence, curiosity, and engagement in learning
- Leadership & Governance – Demonstrates strategic use of the learning environment to embed curriculum priorities
Royd Nursery
At Royd Nursery, our team worked with FS1 and FS2 leaders to develop literacy and numeracy-focused wall art, creating an engaging and educational outdoor learning environment. The project included the alphabet in capitals and cursive text, a graphical number line using animals, vocabulary used in the mud kitchen, crates and planks, as well as the music and water play areas in both FS1 and FS2. In the sand and water zones, we also included measuring with water jugs and buckets.
The wall art was tailored to the age range of the students, ensuring that the displays were bright and vibrant to encourage children to engage with the outdoor learning provision. Part of the project included a fitness circuit with 14 stations around the school. Each station had a different exercise for the children to have a go at. The stations could either be used by the children independently during playtime or as a more structured PE session, supporting both curriculum learning and personal development and wellbeing.
“This has had a significant impact on children in Key Stage 1 both academically and with their physical health. Design for Education have been a superb company to work alongside. They have listened to our ideas, met the needs of our school and I would highly recommend them […]
It has been an absolute pleasure seeing the children using the signage to enhance their learning and it is often commented on in a positive light with all stakeholders and visitors.”
– Sean Sly, Deputy Headteacher
EIF Areas Supported:
- Curriculum & Teaching – Makes key literacy and numeracy concepts easily accessible and visible to students and supports play-based, age-appropriate learning.
- Personal Development & Wellbeing – Encourages confidence, engagement and independence, while the fitness circuit promotes physical development.
- Leadership & Governance – Collaborative design with EYFS leaders shows a strong focus on intentional curriculum planning.
Transform Your School Environment with Bespoke Wall Art
At Design for Education, we create high-quality bespoke classroom and corridor displays that reinforce your curriculum, embed school values and support positive behaviours across your school.
Our wall art is always fully tailored to your school’s requirements, curriculum and core values, helping you make the most of your learning environment while providing visible evidence for Ofsted inspections. Every wall display includes our industry-leading 5-year guarantee and professional installation by our expert team.
It all starts with a free site survey – our team will discuss your space, needs and available budget to make sure we get it right. We’ll provide you with a quote estimate based on your requirements, which includes design, manufacturing and expert installation.