Have you ever played the word association game? If you hear "Ofsted"what's the first thing that comes to mind? From 1 April the Governmentis rather hoping you'll think The Office for Standards in Education,Children's Services and Skills.
That's the full title of the "new Ofsted", created by last year'sEducation Act, after much consultation and planning. Its new remit willinclude the children's work of the Commission for Social Care Inspection(CSCI), the inspection of the Children and Family Court Advisory andSupport Service (Cafcass) and the inspection work of the Adult LearningInspectorate.
And CSCI's children's rights director, Roger Morgan, is coming on board,too.
"It's not just Ofsted taking on some more work, it's a new Ofsted,"explains Dorian Bradley, Ofsted's director of early years. He believesthe changes will put the organisation in a better position to "focus onthe plight of the needy".
Ofsted's history is one of contin-ued expansion. But this time it's notalone. The changes are all part of the Government's bid to cut thenumber of inspectorates from 11 to four to reduce the burden and cost ofinspection.
Bradley is unconcerned that the name Ofsted may be associated withschools' inspections. "There are more media inches about schools becauseall children go to school," he says. "But we will ensure all parts ofour new remit get the attention they deserve."
And it could be just the beginning, as Bradley reveals it is "quitelikely" there will be further adjustments to Ofsted's remit in thefuture. Can the new Ofsted be bigger than the sum of its parts and makea real difference to the lives of children? It's time to meet theinspectors.
JOINT AREA REVIEWS - Frank Norris
Frank Norris is Ofsted's resident joint area review (JAR) guru. Asassistant divisional manager in the children's services division, he isresponsible for JARs, which he describes as the "vanguard" of the newOfsted.
"What's happening in children's services nationally is being reflectedby this merger," he says. "But this is familiar territory for us. We'vebeen the new Ofsted since 2005 when 10 inspectorates joined together toinspect children's services."
A former primary head teacher and school adviser, Norris joined Ofstedin 2001. He lives in Manchester but spends much of his working week inLondon, which he says goes to show just how highly he values hiswork.
"I live 300 miles away - I wouldn't come all the way to London if itwasn't worth it."
Feedback on JARs has been positive. "There was a lot of uncertaintyabout how local authorities were going to tackle this major task. But noone has indicated they would prefer decoupling all this and going backto the old times when there were lots of individual inspections.However, we are looking at how to reduce the burden on authorities," hereveals.
A multi-disciplinary team of inspectors from up to 10 differentinspectorates and commissions undertakes joint area reviews. After 1April, this number will reduce when Ofsted takes on its newresponsibilities, which Norris says will help Ofsted "move forward morerapidly".
From April - the midway point of a three-year programme - there willalso be modified JAR arrangements. And, although JARs will cease at theend of the three years, Norris says he is "pretty certain Ofsted willstill be involved" in whatever alternative follows.
All promising stuff, but does he think the new Ofsted could have goneeven further? Has it, as CSCI chair Denise Platt suggested, missed atrick by not including youth justice or health? "We do have inspectorsfrom those backgrounds involved, the fact they're not merging with uswill have little bearing," claims Norris.
EDUCATION - Harmer Parr
Harmer Parr is one of the old-school Ofsted inspectors. A formerlanguages teacher and local authority education adviser, he has workedat Ofsted for five years and is currently assistant divisional managerof the institutional inspections and frameworks division.
"The new Ofsted is really a continuation of a road we've been on forsome time," says Parr. "Funnily enough, from where I sit, it's likely tobe more of the same but with a slightly different group of people.
I'm looking forward to engaging with a wider range of colleagues andgetting broader experience as a result. Other organisations always haveinteresting and different ways of doing things and we will be using thebest of what each has to offer."
As far as schools are concerned, Parr remains convinced that gettingbigger can only mean better and should make inspections lesscomplicated.
"Schools won't have to do the same things three times over," heexplains, giving the example of boarding schools. "School inspectorsalready work with CSCI inspectors to make sure the inspection ofboarding provision and education happens at the same time. All of thathappens already and, under the new arrangements, it's going to be easierto join those up. In the future we might be able to have more bespokeinspection teams."
Parr admits to feeling frustrated at times, though, at the amount ofchange going on and wonders aloud whether things shouldn't be "allowedto bed in a little bit longer". But, on the whole, he is committed toinspection and talks of the satisfaction of helping a school out ofspecial measures. "I've always enjoyed inspecting and I think Ofsteddoes a pretty good job of improving things," he says. "I'm proud to be apart of that."
EARLY YEARS - Clare Hanson
Amid the creation of the new Ofsted, it will be "business as usual" forearly years providers, says Clare Hanson, an area manager in Ofsted'searly years directorate.
Hanson has been involved in teaching and caring for children her entireprofessional life. Even when she gave up work to raise her own childrenshe became a registered childminder.
She has worked at Ofsted since 2001, when inspection and regulation ofearly years passed over to the watchdog. She says she is someone whoenjoys change and welcomes the new Ofsted. "Change demonstrates thatwe're moving on. It gives us a chance to look at what is best practiceand gives me more opportunities to extend my knowledge andexpertise."
However, Hanson hopes that Ofsted has learned from the difficultiesexperienced in 2001. "I would be lying if I said it was seamless. We aredoing our best to make sure those problems don't happen again. Therewill be hiccups, but I hope we're more aware this time. The inspectionwill not be any different - early years providers will still beinspected against the current framework," she says.
In fact, childcare providers are likely to feel more of an impact fromthe new Childcare Act than the new Ofsted, believes Hanson. "TheChildcare Act pulls together care and education, and most daycareproviders will be looking to provide early learning. It's early days forwhat the framework will look like, but there will be one judgment ofproviders."
At present, Ofsted tries to draw up "single inspection events" foreducation settings that have daycare on site. It's hoped there will bemore inspections like this under the new Ofsted. "They have less impacton the provider and give inspectors a broader picture," adds Hanson.
SOCIAL CARE - Peter Allcock
Peter Allcock is the new boy at Ofsted. A qualified social worker andCSCI inspector, he's currently on secondment and will be involved intraining some 200 inspectors who come across from CSCI.
He has embraced the changes, which he says "make an awful lot of senseand formalises what we've been doing for a while now".
Not for want of trying Ofsted is, to many, inextricably linked witheducation.
So does he worry that this will overshadow social care? "Ofsted does docare. It's there in the strapline - education and care," he points out."Like a lot of things, public perception is still two or three yearsbehind the reality."
Others are worried that creating such a strong focus on children'sservices could lead to young people falling through the gap as they passinto adult services. How will Ofsted protect against this? "It's aboutlooking at how CSCI and Ofsted work together. The onus is on theinspectorates to work together. Ofsted won't inspect young people whoare locked up or staying in hospital, for example."
What hasn't changed, though, is the legislative background. "Many thingswill be familiar to providers - we will still expect them to meet thesame national standards, poor practice will still be dealt with andpre-inspection information will still be used to make judgments in termsof risk," explains Allcock. "There is more in common than differentbetween CSCI and Ofsted."
The new Ofsted should benefit providers, says Allcock, as they will onlyhave to face one inspection rather than two. And inspectors should gaina better perspective of the service being provided.
"The new Ofsted will give a more rounded view of the things that affectchildren. You can't live in a squalid house and get excellent educationand not expect one to affect the other. And an organisation that is ableto inspect both and provide information to Government will be much moreauthoritative and able to influence policy."
CAFCASS - Steve Hunt
Steve Hunt is one of just four people moving across to Ofsted from HerMajesty's Inspectorate of Court Administration (HMICA).
Coming from a social work background, he is responsible for theinspection of Cafcass, which looks after the interests of childreninvolved in proceedings in the family courts.
Cafcass works with about 100,000 children every year in cases such thosedealing with visiting arrangements following a divorce or adoptionapplications.
Hunt's key concern at joining such a large and diverse organisation isgetting their voice heard. "Who will be at the top table shouting forthe 100,000 children that Cafcass deals with each year?" he asks. "Wewant to make sure our voices won't get lost. At the moment, between thecurrent chief inspector and myself there is just one person - so I cansimply walk down the corridor and decisions can be made quickly. InOfsted, there are several tiers - and I don't know what that will meanfor us as a team."
Nonetheless, he is "travelling hopefully" towards life at the new Ofstedand welcomes the benefits of joining a larger organisation. "We willhave access to better business support, and service users will haveaccess to the Ofsted call centre - we don't have anything like that atthe moment.
And there's a good research department. All of this will help enhancecommunication with the children and families we work with and provideopportunities to expand our work."
Hunt also hopes that links with HMICA will continue. "We're not justgoing to gain an insight into one part of the system - local authorities- and lose another - the courts. It's farewell rather than goodbye," hesays.
For Hunt the best thing about being an inspector is helping anorganisation that has already been attempting to improve. "Cafcass helpscourts make decisions that have a long-term effect on children's lives.To have someone in the court system who only thinks about children -that's important."
