Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills

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The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ("HMCI").^[1] All the powers belong to HMCI or to Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools ("HMI") who are appointed by Order in Council and are thus office holders under the Crown. Ofsted itself has no legal existence or statutory recognition but is identified in the public mind with the functions of HMCI.

HMCI is responsible for inspecting the standards of independent schools and state schools, local education authorities, child day care and childminding in England. It also monitors the work of the Independent Schools Inspectorate.^[2] HMI are empowered and 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 Education and Training Inspectorate in Northern Ireland, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education in Scotland, and Estyn in Wales perform similar functions within their education systems.

Ofsted's head office is in Kingsway, Holborn in central London.

History

The offices of HMCI and HMI go back to the mid-19th century but were re-established 1993, under the Education (Schools) Act 1992.

In September 2001, HMCI became responsible for registration and inspection of day care and childminding in England. Previously this was done by 150 local authorities, based on their implementation by 1992 of the Daycare Standards provisions of the 1989 Children Act.

In April 2007 the former Office for Standards in Education merged with the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) to provide an inspection service which includes all post-16 government funded education (but not Higher Education Institutes and Universities which are inspected by the Quality Assurance Agency). At the same time it took on responsibility for the registration and inspection of social care services for children, and the welfare inspection of independent and maintained boarding schools from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).

School inspections

The Office carries out regular inspections of each school in England, resulting in a published evaluation of the effectiveness of the school. An adverse report may include a recommendation for further intervention in the running of the school.

System of inspection before 2005

Critics of the system of inspection claim that the short amount of time in which HMI get to see the school does not accurately represent the day-to-day activities and can give a biased view.

Prior to 2005, each school was inspected for a week every six years, with two months notice to prepare for an inspection. This regime was criticised by teachers and school heads as greatly disruptive of the operation of the school, and by others as enabling schools to present an unrealistic picture of themselves that did not truly reflect the quality of teaching and learning in the school.^[3][4]

Current system of inspection

In September 2005 a new system of short notice inspections came into being. Under this system the senior leadership of each school are required to complete a Self Evaluation Form (SEF) on a continual basis, which requires them to be aware of strengths and areas for development. Inspections are generally two or three day visits every three years, with two days notice. They focus on the "central nervous system" of the school – examining how well the school is managed, and what processes are in place to ensure standards of teaching and learning improve; the school leadership and management are expected to be aware of everything in the SEF. The SEF serves as the main document when planning the inspection, and is crucial in evaluating the quality of leadership and management and the school's capacity to improve.^[3][5]

After an inspection of a school, Ofsted publishes a report on the school on its website. In addition to written comments on a number of areas, schools are assessed on each area and overall on a 4-point scale: 1 (Outstanding), 2 (Good), 3 (Satisfactory) and 4 (Inadequate). Schools rated Outstanding or Good might not be inspected again for five years, while schools judged less favourably are inspected more frequently, and may receive little or no notice of inspection visits.^[5]

Special measures

Sometimes a school is placed into special measures if it is judged as 'inadequate' (Grade 4) in one or more areas and if the inspectors have decided it does not have the capacity to improve without additional help. 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 may be replaced by an appointed executive committee. Schools which are failing but where inspectors consider there is capacity to improve are given a Notice to Improve.

Inspectors

There are three types of Ofsted inspector:

• Senior inspectors are titled Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) and are appointed by the Queen in Council.
• Additional Inspectors (AI), employed by private Regional Inspection Service Providers (RISPs), who make up the majority of inspectors.
• Additionally, HMCI directly employs child care inspectors (CCI) who inspect and regulate early years settings and child care.

HM Chief Inspector is Ms Christine Gilbert CBE, who started this role on 1 October 2006. One of her key briefs is to oversee the expansion of Ofsted's remit from April 2007 to include the inspection of children's social services, adult learning and aspects of court administration, as this relates to children.

In Popular Culture

OFSTED has appeared in several forms of entertainment and popular culture in the United Kingdom.

• Hope And Glory A television mini-series featuring actor/comedian Lenny Henry gave an insight into a fictional portrayal of teachers dealing with a school in Special Measures.^[6]

• OFSTED! The Musical.^[7] A musical which caused controversy in 2004 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The piece enjoyed a total sell-out run at Venue 45 and won the Writers' Guild Award for Drama 2004 and the List Magazine Award".^[8] The musical was later broadcast on Teachers TV as part of their launch night schedule".^[9]

See also

• Education in England

References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008)

External links

• Official Ofsted website

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