Ofsted promises to do more following ESC inquiry

Ofsted has responded to each of the Education Select Committee's (ESC) recommendations made at the end of January. 

The department said implementing many of the Inquiry’s recommendations would require additional funding from the government, and that they welcome the feedback from the ESC's Inquiry. 

Meeting the ESC's recommendations is estimated to cost an additional £8.5 million a year. 

Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted's chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, said he is committed to "running an open and transparent organisation."

He said: "We have already made several positive changes over the last year, and I have promised that we will do more.

"But we have to accept that anything we do has to be within the budget constraints we have."

The ESC’s recommendations include confirming a review of its current risk assessment model, agreeing to publish our training materials for inspectors, and considering many of the other recommendations as part of the Big Listen.

While Ofsted’s role and responsibilities have expanded significantly since 2005, its funding has fallen significantly over the same period, and is now 29 per cent lower in real terms compared with 2009/10.

One way Ofsted could inspect schools in greater depth is by ensuring that every inspection is led by one of His Majesty’s Inspectors and that the inspection team has an additional inspector on the team. This change would provide a number of additional benefits, including allowing for more time to explore the school’s unique approach. Delivering this additional depth in school inspections would have a direct cost of £8.5 million per year.