The former chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw has poured scorn on Ofsted’s judgment that almost nine out of 10 state schools in England are “good”, describing it as “complete nonsense”.

According to the latest official statistics, 88% of schools were judged to be either “good” or “outstanding” by the schools inspectorate as of the end of last December, but Wilshaw told MPs that having visited some of those awarded a “good” rating by Ofsted, he did not agree.

hWilshaw, a former headteacher who led Ofsted between 2012 and 2016, was giving evidence to MPs on the Commons education select committee which is holding an inquiry into Ofsted’s work with schools.

One of the issues MPs are looking into is Ofsted’s use of headline judgments which label a school outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate at the conclusion of an inspection.

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