This article is personal and rather anecdotal as it is an attempt to sum up my experience of 30 years of Ofsted inspections. The key questions remain what they always were. How do you deal with the sometimes conflicting requirements of support and accountability, objectivity and impartiality, styles of inspection, reporting and grading? Perhaps…

Ofsted has frequently defended the judgements made during inspections by claiming that inspection ratings are reliable, as shown by the results from the collection of studies the inspectorate has conducted. I outline the inspectorate's view of reliability and problematise the studies that it has carried out, noting that these provide insufficient…

This paper argues that Ofsted's initial approach to the use of criteria encouraged a misguided view of how inspection judgements should be made and, at worst, militated against the professional discussion between inspectors and schools that should always have been at the heart of the process.

This paper considers how effectively inspection takes account of the 'lived experience' of young people in school and in their leisure time, and identifies some weaknesses in both data gathering and reporting. It asserts that Ofsted should be more forthright in its judgments of the curriculum range now offered in schools, and regrets its lack of…

In this article I consider changes in the remit and interpretation of the role of Ofsted since its inception in 1992, with particular reference to early years inspections.

This case study of one primary school's inspection journey over 20 years highlights serious concerns about Ofsted's education inspection framework and modus operandi in relation to safeguarding. Ofsted's proposed changes to inspection practice following school inspections are also discussed.

In a previous article in "FORUM," Ofsted's criteria for 'outstanding grades' were described as 'outstanding nonsense'. In the first part of this short two-part article, a similarly sceptical view is taken in regard to one important practice in the current Ofsted framework -- interviewing children to see how much they remember of the…

In England and Wales, diocesan inspectors are charged with assessing the overall quality of Catholic education provided by Catholic schools. As part of this assessment, inspectors are required to give an account of the liturgical life of the school. Often the reports which result from these inspections refer to the degree of students' "active…

While never a loved organisation, Ofsted's reputation has perhaps never been so low. Amid a myriad of calls for reform or abolition, former HMI Adrian Lyons reflects on his 20 years of inspection with over 16 years employed by Ofsted as an HMI. He concludes that one of the biggest problems with Ofsted is its frequent change in policy, activity and…

Children's early education experiences are rarely high quality when changes to policy and practice are knee jerk and made in response to politicised anger and frustration. Changes to education inspection systems deliver when they are grounded in evidence-informed practice. What matters is that the inspection process supports practitioners in…

This article proposes reform of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). It considers the purpose of inspection in English schools and describes the previous system of inspection based on Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools (HMI). The question of how effective Ofsted is -- in comparison to similar countries -- is then addressed. The…

After an analysis of the arrival of the National Curriculum, the account moves to the arrival of Ofsted as a way of policing the National Curriculum, albeit in relation to confusion over how to deal with the cross-curricular issues. There follows a brief history of Ofsted, its methods, style and purpose, before I examine the impact of…

The inspectorate's complex relationship with schools has been fraught with various difficulties over recent years, as shown through the ongoing formal and informal dialogue between the two. Prior to the COVID pandemic, there was a call from some quarters for a pause in inspection and a re-evaluation of Ofsted's core purpose. Following suspension…

In 2019 Ofsted introduced cultural capital (CC) into the Early Years Inspection Handbook and defined it as 'essential knowledge' related to 'educated citizenship'. This paper investigates Ofsted's use of CC to critically examine the potential implications for early years work. Due to the feminised nature of early years work, a critical feminist…

In England, there is a National Curriculum in place which is intended to outline what will be taught and learned in each of the required subjects in state schools, music being one of these subjects. However, for some years, a right-wing conservative government has been working on systemic change, which removes many schools from state control and…