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Inspection – and accountability – is uncomfortable, but a necessary feature of the work of any professional body, says Christine Gilbert Working in local government is about making life better for local people – and that is what Ofsted is about too. "Unfortunately, there have been a lot of deeply-unhelpful myths peddled about the new schools inspection framework." In fact, many of the people who work at Ofsted came from local government and local children's services, so we have not just shared values but a lot of shared history too. I understand how nerve-wracking it can be when Ofsted arrives for an inspection. But the good news is that most of the time, we are able to report that services are good or better. What gets reported, however, are often our less-positive assessments, and I am amazed at the misrepresentation of the balance of our findings. Yet, while positive messages will never get the coverage they deserve, we must report the weaknesses as well as the strengths we find. Accountability is uncomfortable, but a necessary feature of the work of any professional body. A difficult and challenging judgment is often a powerful catalyst for improvements which are needed for children and learners to have better outcomes. For example, more than 80% of schools that had been found ‘inadequate' at their previous inspection had improved to ‘satisfactory' or better in their inspection last year. Similar effects can be seen in colleges and childcare providers. I recall how important it was to me as a director, and later as a council chief executive, to know the basis on which the service was being judged. Inspection must be fair and transparent, and I recognise there are anxieties at present about changes to the system of inspection of schools and children's services. This September, we introduced a new school inspection framework. Just as it did in 2005, when we last made major changes, this has caused some anxiety. However, it is worth remembering how effectively schools rose to that challenge. Last year, almost twice as many were judged ‘outstanding', and half as many ‘inadequate', as in that first year of what had been new and unfamiliar arrangements' four years earlier. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of deeply-unhelpful myths peddled about the new schools inspection framework. There is no truth in the claim that schools are being found inadequate simply because of a hole in their fence, or that inspectors need to be asked for their CRB checks before being let on to the premises. Safeguarding does now play a bigger role in inspection, for reasons that everyone will understand. Too many children are still killed or seriously injured every year when sometimes, public services could have helped prevent it. Yet many local areas perform well at safeguarding as well as running excellent universal services for children and young people. To help address people's uncertainties about how we are inspecting safeguarding, we have now published some frequently-asked questions and their answers for schools and colleges on our website. Our inquiries line can also help dispel myths and set minds at rest. It is true that the annual children's services assessment has raised expectations. It is a more wide-ranging and robust assessment of performance in children's services, including all schools, early years education and childcare, children's homes, the educational standards achieved by all learners, and the services for looked-after children and safeguarding. We have raised our expectations, as we should, to ensure every child and young person has the best opportunity to succeed, and the best services to support them and keep them safe. While we should recognise the successes of the majority of local councils which are achieving well for children and young people, we also need to highlight the local areas where more effort is required. In order for Ofsted to perform our role most effectively, it is important that we have the respect and trust of those we inspect and regulate. And that is why I value the positive feedback we're getting from current inspections. I also value the regular contact we have with leaders in local government, the teaching profession, and children's services more widely. We won't always agree, but understanding each other is essential. In the end, our role is set out clearly in legislation the use of inspection to support improvement, encourage services we inspect to focus on the needs of their users, and help all services make the best use of their resources. And I know those are aims which are shared widely among the services we inspect. We are in this together. Christine Gilbert is Her Majesty's inspector, Ofsted

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We're on this journey together

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