Ofsted shares how inspections will operate during strike period

Ofsted has published information on how it is planning inspections to avoid strike days.

Acknowledging that the full impact for schools may not be known until the day of the strike, Ofsted has said they will schedule school inspection notifications and on-site inspections to avoid strike days.

For example, to avoid the strike action taking place on 1 February, Ofsted will notify schools of their inspection on Tuesday 31 January. On-site inspection activity will then take place on Thursday 2 February and Friday 3 February.

The Ofsted statement says: "We know that the teaching union strikes in February will have an impact on schools and the full impact might not be known until the day of the strike.

"We want to maintain school inspection activity as far as possible in February and March, while responding sensitively to local circumstances. So we will schedule school inspection notifications and on-site inspections to avoid strike days."

Ofsted also has its usual deferral policy in place - any deferral requests made as a result of strike action will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Read more