Schools will be given less than 24 hours' notice of inspector's visit
Katy Morton
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Schools will receive a one-day warning of an Ofsted inspection, under new plans to come into effect from September.
Ofsted’s chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw announced today that from the start of the new school term, headteachers will receive a call from inspectors the afternoon before an Ofsted inspection takes place, rather than the 48 hours’ notice they currently receive.
The announcement follows education secretary Michael Gove’s u-turn decision on introducing no-notice inspections earlier in the month, after Sir Michael Wilshaw suggested schools receive no warning, bringing them in line with early years settings.
It is a number of changes being made by Ofsted, following a 12-week consultation into the way schools, further education and skills, and initial teacher education is inspected.
Sir Michael also revealed that the term ‘satisfactory’ to describe schools, will be replaced with ‘requires improvement’, and inspection reports will be clear about what needs to be improved.
Announcing the results of the consultation, Ofsted’s chief inspector said, ‘All schools and colleges can, and should, provide at least a good level of education. Parents and employers, children and learners, expect nothing less. That is why we are introducing these changes to the way we inspect. Inspectors will be clear about what needs to improve, and will return sooner to those that are not yet good to check their progress.
‘We want to work with good headteachers and principals as they strive to provide the best education possible for pupils and learners. These new arrangements have benefited from extensive consultation and I am grateful to all those who took the time to respond.’
The decision to continue to give schools notice before an inspection is a further blow to the early years sector, who have called for equal treatment for nurseries and schools in Ofsted inspection notice.
Claire Schofield, director of membership, policy and communications for the National Day Nurseries Association, said, ‘ NDNA and our members have always wanted schools and nurseries to be on a level playing field when it comes to inspections to ensure different types of early years provision are subject to the same level of scrutiny.’
