Do Ofsted inspections help schools improve and how reliable are they? MPs question experts and former Chief Inspector
The Education Committee will quiz experts on whether Ofsted inspections lead to improvements in schools, followed by questions to a second panel including a former schools minister and former Ofsted chief.
MPs want to dig into how consistent inspections are in terms of how they are carried out, after receiving evidence suggesting that whether an Ofsted inspector is male or female, or directly employed or freelance, may lead to different outcomes.
Meeting details
The cross-party Committee will also ask witnesses whether the accuracy of judgements on schools can be influenced by the length and frequency of inspections, whether the inspector is familiar with different types of schools or the subjects that are being taught, and to what extent local disadvantage is taken into account.
There may also be questions about the evidence on whether negative judgements lead to standards improving in schools, or whether they can be detrimental to staff morale and retention, potentially leading to further decline in standards.
Meanwhile, the second panel, with former schools minister Lord Jim Knight and former HMCI Sir Michael Wilshaw, will be questioned on how inspections have changed over time, and their views on how beneficial inspections are to schools.
Ofsted’s own research has found that 93% of schools say that the judgements they had received were “justified”, and that only 3% of inspections led to a complaint in 2022/23.