Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the level of complaints about Ofsted's inspection processes.

The Department is committed to the regular, independent inspection of all state funded schools by Ofsted as part of its broader strategy for accountability and school improvement. 88% of schools in England are judged by Ofsted to be ‘good’ or better, which is up from 68% in 2010.

Ofsted received 218 complaints following a school inspection in 2022/23, which is approximately 3% of inspections carried out during the period. The Department understands that, of these, most were concerned about the inspection grade awarded and concerns about the conduct of the inspection.

Ofsted is currently consulting on proposals for a strengthened complaints process, and the Department urges educators to take the opportunity to share their views. The consultation can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-ofsteds-post-inspection-arrangements-and-complaints-handling-proposals-2023.

The Department recognises the significant public focus on inspection that has arisen following the tragic death of Ruth Perry and that this broader debate has focused attention on important issues such as how safeguarding is inspected and how headteachers are supported. It is right that the accountability system, including inspection, develops and evolves and that the system is responsive where concerns arise.

On 12 June, Ofsted announced a series of changes designed to improve the inspection arrangements. The details of this are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-made-to-school-inspections. Alongside this, the Department announced a doubling of its mental health and wellbeing support package for this year, to ensure school leaders can access expert supervision and counselling.