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Lord Sutherland of Houndwood Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

The answer to the noble Baroness’s first question is yes. The answer to the second is that I cannot regret something that is not taking place.

[Lord Sutherland of Houndwood (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that Ofsted must be judged on the basis of the quality of its evidence and of the surveys that it carries out in schools and the implications for a policy such as this, rather than on political matters?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. Of course, given his background, he is vastly experienced in this. I could not agree more. Ofsted is doing an outstanding job. It is our sharpest tool. The first thing that the chief inspector did was to abolish the appalling and mediocre term “satisfactory” that had been allowed to exist for years. That shows where he is coming from, and he is having a great effect. Indeed, Ofsted reports that last year our schools improved at a faster rate than any other time in history.