PLA welcomes inspection rethink

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Plans to restructure the Ofsted inspection service over the next three years have been welcomed by the Pre-School Learning Alliance (PLA). The Improving Ofsted programme, designed to deliver savings of 20 per cent in its annual budget by 2008, will involve reorganising the service around three major regions - Bristol, Nottingham and Manchester. Administrative support for inspections will also be merged regionally. Michael Freeston, the PLA's director of training and quality assurance, supported 'Ofsted's intention to make the inspection process clearer for nurseries'. He added, 'The proposed integration of services within Ofsted will make it easier for pre-schools to engage positively with inspection processes.'