Ofsted

Debate between Catherine McKinnell and Layla Moran

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)]

In my career as a teacher, I had the dubious pleasure of being inspected by four different regimes. I am afraid to say that Ofsted was the most brutal, the least personal and the least useful of all the regimes. At its best, an inspection regime can help to drive up improvements and celebrate what is great about a school. Inspections hold up a mirror and make teachers ask themselves what more they can do for the children they care about so much. What lessons is the Department learning from other inspection regimes around the world?

[Catherine McKinnell]

The hon. Lady raises an important point, and her experience is obviously valuable to the House for the lessons that we can learn. She is absolutely right to say that a good inspection regime drives improvement and identifies in all schools not only those areas where they are doing well—which should be celebrated—but those where there is room to improve. We will consult on the report card system extensively over the next year. We want to make sure we get this right, and we want to do it in partnership. We will look to see how this is done elsewhere to make sure that we learn from best practice, and we will continue to ensure that this is an inspection system that should be welcomed by schools, as it helps them to identify how they deliver for their children, as she rightly says. I know that that is the priority for every school.