Education: Inspecting The Inspectors

In the United Kingdom there is a well tried and tested system, it appears, for determining the quality of British schools. Ofsted is the organization which is charged with inspecting schools on a regular basis and providing reports both to the schools and to the public detailing the successes and failings and any recommendations to improve the school for the sake of the pupils and the community at large. It now appears that Ofsted itself is in need of inspection and regulation.

Recent reports have suggested that inspectors used by Ofsted have not always been present in some of the classes and classrooms that they have been reporting on. In this instance, therefore, they are reporting on something that haven't witnessed and that may be, at best, second hand knowledge. The Ofsted inspection, for most schools and school teachers, is an arduous and harrowing experience. Under normal circumstances, several days or even weeks of preparation are employed in ensuring that the Ofsted inspection is met with the best possible response.

This in itself may seem artificial – the school presentation is fitted to the inspection rather than being an inspection of what the school life is really like. Now added to this, we set that Ofsted itself cannot produce reports that can be classed as fully reliable, at least in some instances, and we now need to inspect the inspectors. The situation could hardly be more comical and frightening.

How long will it be before we need inspectors to inspect the inspectors that are inspecting the inspectors?