Nick Gibb, Minister of State for School Standards, has written a letter to Amanda Spielman (external link), Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI), asking that Ofsted increase the level of inspection for outstanding schools to 10% (rather than the current 5 – 10%). This comes amid concerns that some schools previously rated outstanding have not been inspected for over 10 years (external link). Nick Gibb writes that whilst schools rated outstanding might be eligible for exception, Ofsted should be able to see schools that might need inspection based on official yearly performance data. Ofsted should then be able to determine which schools need inspecting from this information. Nick Gibbs explains that:
“This 10% will include schools and colleges where Ofsted’s risk assessment indicates there may be concerns. Ofsted can of course also choose to visit a selection of schools and colleges where best practice is likely to be found to support its survey and research programme, as set out in your strategic plan.”
Currently Ofsted cannot inspect schools more frequently than legislated. However, in order to accommodate the increased inspection of outstanding schools, in its 2017 – 2022 strategy (external link), Ofsted suggested that:
“to allow us to visit more outstanding provision while maintaining a focus on poor provision, we may, within legislative limits, lengthen the interval between inspection visits of good providers”.