Office for Standards in Education

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The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial government department, established in 1993 under the Education (Schools) Act 1992. It is responsible for inspecting the standards of schools, local education authorities, child day care and childminding in England; it has no statutory authority over independent schools. Ofsted is also required to provide independent advice to the United Kingdom government and parliament on matters of policy and to publish an annual report to parliament on the quality of educational provision in England.

The legal name is the "Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector", reflecting the fact that Ofsted's powers are vested in its Chief Inspector, appointed by the Queen-in-Council.

In September 2001 Ofsted became responsible for registration and inspection of day care and childminding. This was previously the done by 150 local authorities, each with different standards.

1 Previous system
2 Current system
3 Special measures
4 See also
5 External links

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Previous system

Critics of the system claim that the short amount of time in which the Ofsted inspectors get to see the school does not accurately represent the day-to-day activities and can give a biased view. Further, with notice given to the school of a pending inspection they can often quickly organise themselves in order to appear better than at other times when not being watched. This, it could be said, at least forces the school and its teachers to prepare for the duration of the inspection and that can have many positive after-effects, though, obversely, it has also been argued that the notice given can enable schools to present an unrealistic picture of themselves that does not truly reflect the quality of teaching and learning in the school.

Schools were generally inspected every four years, though this can depend on previous Ofsted results.

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Current system

In September 2005 a new system of more-frequent, short notice inspections came into being. Under this new system schools are required to complete a Self Evaluation Form on a continual basis, which requires them to be aware of strengths and areas of development. The focus is on school self-evaluation combined with evidence and strategic policies for development and improvement.

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Special measures

Sometimes schools are placed into special measures if a poor report is given. Schools placed into special measures receive intensive support from local authorities, additional funding and resourcing, and frequent reappraisal from Ofsted until the school is no longer deemed to be failing. Furthermore, the senior managers and teaching staff can be dismissed and the school governors are replaced by an appointed executive committee. Other inadequate schools are given a Notice to Improve.

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