Short inspections for most schools

The decision to focus on core issues and a sample of foundation subjects for a majority of nursery and primary schools was among key decisions announced by Ofsted last week following a three-month consultation, Improving Inspection.

Improving Schools, on future inspection arrangements. While most nursery and primary schools will have shorter inspections, weaker primary and nursery schools will have extended inspections which will cover most subjects in detail and identify priorities for action.

Ofsted is also setting up a working group on pupils' and parents' interests to help it refine proposals for future development of school inspections, as one of four working groups aimed at developing ideas emerging from the consultation.

The chief inspector of schools Mike Tomlinson said, 'Nearly all the consultation responses were positive about the overall direction of the changes we proposed.

'They endorsed my belief that inspection can be supportive without losing any of its rigour and objectivity. A well-run inspection can be a powerful aid to development for individual teachers and for schools while retaining its unique role in delivering an impartial analysis of a school's strengths and weaknesses to parents and other stakeholders.

'The improvements in primary schools, which Ofsted has monitored and reported on in recent years make it possible to move towards a slightly lighter inspection touch for most schools. There is still a group of primary schools, however, where vigilant security remains essential.'

Not all nurseries are likely to be pleased with the prospect of shorter inspections. One nursery head said, 'My fear of a short inspection is that they might end up very intense and less satisfactory.

'Inspections are bad enough anyway, and a shorter one could be overwhelming. It sounds easier but I don't know if it would be because if something was to go wrong on that particular day the nursery would be lumbered with that inspection for the next few years, so it could be less fair to those schools.'

Most of the changes just announced by Ofsted will affect the system of statutory school inspections from September 2003.