Ofsted has made the comment within its response to the Education Select Committee’s report on Ofsted’s work with schools, published today.
Responding specifically to the pressure of inspection on sectors, Ofsted said, ‘We know that inspection puts pressure on the sectors we inspect, which is why we are determined to strike the right balance between carrying out our role and reducing pressures on the leaders and staff we inspect. We are determined to hear feedback on how we can better strike this balance in the coming months.
‘However, we also suspect that a significant amount of fear about Ofsted inspections is driven by organisations and individuals seeking to profit from inspection preparation, where this is entirely unnecessary. It is a source of particular frustration that some of these individuals previously worked for us.’
Such preparation, sometimes called ‘Mocksteds’, has been widely criticised, including by former chief inspector Amanda Spielman.
On the effectiveness of the single word judgement, Ofsted said it was the Department for Education’s decision.
Responding to suggestions that more in-depth inspections be carried out by HMI’s, Ofsted said that while its remit has expanded ‘significantly’ since 2005, its funding has fallen, and is now 29 per cent lower in real terms compared with 2009/10.
It goes on to state, ‘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.’
Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, said, ‘I am committed to running an open and transparent organisation and I welcome the committee’s recommendations. 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.
‘I want to encourage as many people as possible to take part in our Big Listen, to help inform our future direction and make sure all children have the best possible education, care, and life chances.’