Ofsted has pledged that “most” inspections from November will include at least one inspector with experience of working in the type of setting they are visiting.
The watchdog says it will “make the best use” of the “current sector knowledge and experience” of Ofsted inspectors – who are often serving staff members in schools – by “placing greater emphasis on matching their expertise to specific types of provision”.
Meanwhile, all inspections of schools and colleges will also be led by either a current HMI or an inspector with “recent HMI experience”.
‘Most’ inspections to have school type experience
Ofsted said that during its recent consultation on its proposed inspection changes, it was told that inspectors “do not always have the necessary expertise or experience in the specific types of provision they inspect” such as primary schools or special schools.
It heard that this “makes it harder for them to understand the context the provider is working in”.
But going forward, “most” school, further education and skills inspections “will have at least one inspector on the team with previous experience of working in a similar type of provision”.
Ofsted told Schools Week it aims for “all” inspection teams to include someone with direct experience in the type of setting they are inspecting, but said there may be circumstances where that is not possible.
In those cases, an inspector with relevant expertise will carry out aspects of the post-inspection quality assurance.
This change will be rolled out in November, with the introduction of Ofsted’s new education inspection framework and “report card” inspections.
Finalised details of how the inspections work are due to be published in September, just weeks before they will be rolled out.
Inspection to be led by current or recent HMIs
Ofsted also announced “all” inspections of schools and colleges will be led by either a current HMI or an inspector with “recent HMI experience”, to draw on their “more in-depth inspection expertise”.
Ofsted told Schools Week it is yet to establish what will constitute “recent HMI experience”, but said it will likely mean having worked as an HMI within the last three years.
HMIs are civil servants who often work for Ofsted full-time, whereas Ofsted inspectors (OIs) work for the watchdog on a freelance basis and usually hold other positions in the sector.
Analysis by FFT Education Datalab previously showed that between 2011 and 2019, 80 per cent of primary inspections and 55 per cent of secondary inspections were led by an OI, rather than an HMI.
OIs led around 40 per cent of all short inspections.
Ofsted told Schools Week that today, “about two-thirds to three-quarters of inspections” are led by HMIs.
The watchdog says the changes to inspections will help deliver “more insightful, context-aware inspections that will better serve children, learners and education providers.
‘Positive step’ for consistency
Chief Inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said the changes are part of a drive to ensure inspections “are as consistent as possible”.
“We have already put stronger quality assurance measures in place, and utilising the expertise of our workforce as effectively as we can is another significant step forward.
“All inspection teams will have the right blend of inspection expertise and current sector insight. This will help us better understand the context of the schools and colleges we inspect, to provide a fair and accurate report for parents.”
Steve Rollett, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), said it is “a positive step”.
“It is welcome that Ofsted are taking the issue of consistency seriously. Having the most experienced inspectors lead inspections should support consistency, which would be a positive step.
“We know Ofsted has also committed to making improvements to its proposed toolkits and methodology, and we hope these changes will provide further reassurance on consistency.”
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