It is time for Ofsted to reconsider its remit

There are some worrying signs for social care work at Ofsted – slipping inspection timescales, stretched human and financial resources, and lack of stability in leadership to name but a few. Taken together, they indicate an organisation that is creaking under pressure.

With every likelihood that this week’s Spending Review will result in a further budget reduction, Ofsted has to look again at what it can realistically offer. It has already shrunk inspection teams in a bid to complete the current single inspection framework (SIF) cycle by the extended deadline of March 2017.

It is vital this timeframe does not slip any further, as only once the SIF is complete can Ofsted embark on a new round of inspections using a reformed system. Finding a process that measures the right things, accurately reflects quality and is less resource intensive for children’s services and the inspectorate itself is a tall order, but one that must be vigorously pursued.

There are three key things Ofsted can do to achieve this long-term goal and see it through the immediate choppy waters. First, it must repair its relationship with those it inspects. Children’s services leaders have long called for the SIF to be scrapped as they believe it has set the bar unrealistically high at a time when demand is rising and funding squeezed.