“Absurd” demands being placed on Ofsted inspectors by new inspection framework, new analysis suggests
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Former senior inspectors calculate that inspection teams are being asked to make more than 300 judgements on each primary school during their short visits, based on content of Ofsted’s guidance for inspectors.
Ofsted inspectors will have to make more than 300 judgements during their two-day visits to schools, an analysis of guidance put out by the inspectorate in advance of the start of its new framework shows.
In a revelation which throws into question the workability of the new inspection set-up, former senior inspectors Colin Richards and Frank Norris, writing for Education Uncovered, counted 213 evaluations needed for a typical primary school, under the new framework.
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By Warwick Mansell for EDUCATION UNCOVERED
Published: 14 October 2025
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