LONDON, March 13 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:
Inspections already bringtogether theexpertiseof Ofsted's full-time His Majesty's Inspectors(HMI)and the real-time sector knowledge of contracted Ofsted Inspectors(OIs).This new pilot is exploring how Ofsted can enhance that crucial blend with even moresharedinsight into the context, challenges and day-to-day realities providers face, and how inspection can support improvement.
Thisis part of Ofsted's commitment tomakingsure inspection teams include people with relevant, sector‑specificexperience, who arebest placed to understand the part of the system they are inspecting.
Currently, most OIs join Ofsted as individuals and their interaction with other OIs and HMI is largely limited to their inspection work. While this has worked well for inspection, it can restrict chances for two-way professional reflection and shared learning. The pilot is developing structured engagement opportunities for OIs, provided by the Ofsted Academy, to help forge an even deeper and more enduring connection between Ofsted and the education sector.
The scheme, which is already underway, involves OIs joining Ofsted as groups of peers drawn from the professional organisations and networks they're already part of, such as multi-academy trusts, local authorities, dioceses, local school networks, independent learning providers and general further education colleges.
OIsrecruited in this waywillform a professional community with each other andwith HMI.Ofsted will ensure theyhaveregular opportunities to share feedbackcollectivelyandtoreflect on whatthey'reseeing and learningday-to-day. Their experienceswillthen feed directly into how Ofsted continuously improvesinspection.
Announcing the pilotatthe Association of School and College Leaders Annual Conference this morning,His Majesty's Chief Inspector,Sir Martyn Oliver,said:
I'mreally excited about this pilot.It means we can bring in current sector insight in a more systemic way. It means more people in the sector, inspecting the sector. Even more colleagues who understand what it means to lead a school through challenges, to make the difficult calls you all make every day.
I know there are thousands of you who want to be inspectors. And I want to bring in as many people from the sector as possible! It is a chance for you to give back to the system, to shape how inspection works, to carry your expertise into schools and providers across the country. I believe this should be part of every leader's journey. So join us.
I want to make inspection more collaborative than ever before. We should work together to challenge each other in the interests of children and learners and to keep raising standards.
While this is a newroute into the rolewith increasedopportunities for professional engagement,OIs recruited through the pilot willcontinue tobe trained to the samehigh standardsas existing OIsand will carry out the same inspection work.
Under thisnewmodel, there is no separate inspection fee. Instead, Ofsted will contribute to employers' costs sothatstaff canbecome an OIaspart of their professional development pathway.Ofsted is also developing additional learning and development opportunities to complement inspection training and make sure becoming an OI offers clear professional value for participants and their employers.
The first participantsinthe pilot began inspector training in Januaryand are currentlytaking part in shadow inspections.They are expectedtobeready toparticipatein liveinspectionslater thisterm, withfurther cohorts tobegin traininglater in theyear.The pilot will continue throughout 2026 and feedback from participants will help inform how Ofsted recruit OIs in the future.
Ofsted isalso exploringwhethera similar approachcan be adopted across early years and social careinspection.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
