The outgoing Chief Inspector of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, and Schools Minister Nick Gibb will be questioned by the Education Committee on Wednesday 8 November at 14.30.
In this final session of its inquiry into Ofsted’s work with schools, the cross-party Committee will quiz the witnesses on a range of issues raised during evidence sessions and in written submissions it received.
MPs may ask the Minister and Chief Inspector for their views on the usefulness of single word judgements, and how the outcomes of inspections should best be communicated to staff and families. In its last session, the Committee was told by former Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw that the “days of the one-word judgment are coming to an end” as “it is not giving parents an accurate picture of what is happening in the schools”.
Academics have suggested various factors can affect the reliability and consistency of Ofsted inspections, including the gender of inspectors, how many inspectors are involved, the frequency of inspections and how long they last. Other variables, such as whether local socio-economic deprivation is sufficiently taken into account and whether an inspector has expertise in different types of school, are also thought to have an impact.
