Ofsted failing to re-inspect some struggling schools within 30 months

Ofsted is not re-inspecting a “small number” of schools that it rates ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ within 30 months, newly released board papers show.The news comes despite the inspectorate’s school inspection handbook saying that requires improvement schools will “usually [be re-inspected] within 30 months after the publication of the previous section 5 report”.The rules also say that while inadequate schools that are newly-academised or re-brokered will be inspected as new schools within three years, inadequate academies that are not re-brokered will normally be re-inspected within 30 months.Matthew Coffey, Ofsted’s chief operating officer told its board meeting on 20 November 2018: “There is a small number of schools in special measures, schools graded requires improvement and schools with serious weaknesses that will not be re-inspected within 30 months.” According to the minutes, published today, he told the board that each case is discussed monthly, and Ofsted’s regional directors are “confident there are justifiable reasons for any delays, such as uncertainty around school re-brokering or joining an academy trust”. He added that “All will be inspected within the statutory period” - which is five years.Last year the inspectorate came under heavy criticism from the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for wrongly telling Parliament that is had met its legal requirement of re-inspecting non-exempt schools every five years.