Ineffective efficiency

Anastasia De Waal, 3 April 2009

At the end of last year Civitas published a book on the state of Ofsted’s school inspections; drawing on a range of – to use that technocrat term – ‘stakeholders’’ views, it includes those of a head, a parent and an inspector. One thing iss very clear: the time and resources allocated to school inspections are inadequate. Perhaps surprising to some that any current quango is under-funded, budget inspections are considered to be at the heart of perniciously superficial inspections and unsatisfactorily trained inspectors. Let’s be clear: Ofsted’s very premise is highly flawed and the inspectorate has never been regarded as a good model by educationalists. Nevertheless, the bid to shave off 30 per cent of its budget has exacerbated some of Ofsted’s key weaknesses to the point of rendering it difficult for even its staunchest supporters to justify.

So it is alarming to hear that Ofsted is maintaining its current regime but cutting its costs even further; a move which is predicted to undermine the quality of inspections rather than produce greater efficiency. Last week Ofsted announced that it would be making dramatic savings by halving the number of inspection contractors. Since 2005 Regional Inspection Service Providers (RISPs) have been contracted by the inspectorate to organise inspections on their behalf in each region. This move itself was a cost-cutting exercise, contentious because, amongst other issues, the RISPs are thought to be less stringent about both inspector training and recruitment criteria. Concern over the latest arrangements, highlighted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (and reported in today’s Times Educational Supplement), is that the retendering process will likely be accompanied by a cut in inspector fees. The worry is that this will mean even less well-trained and less-experienced inspectors as pay cuts drive out the more experienced. Were this to be the case, the weaknesses raised to date with regards to currently practising inspectors – an over-reliance on superficial tick-box criteria and a lack of professional judgement – are set to become further entrenched.