Ofsted to strengthen inspections through new team structures
Following feedback from last year’s Big Listen and the recent consultation on inspection reform, Ofsted has today announced a new structure for inspection teams in schools and further education, focused on improving consistency.
The new team structure will make the best use of the complementary skills and expertise of Ofsted’s employed His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and its contracted Ofsted inspectors (OIs) – who are often serving practitioners in schools and colleges.
The changes mean that following the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025:
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all schools and further education inspections will be led by current His Majesty’s Inspectors, or OIs with recent HMI experience, drawing on their more in-depth inspection expertise and training
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Ofsted will make the best use of OI’s current sector knowledge and experience by deploying them as team inspectors, placing greater emphasis on matching their expertise to specific types of provision to complement the inspection expertise brought by His Majesty’s Inspectors
This change recognises the value Ofsted places on the unique strengths and expertise of His Majesty’s Inspectors and OIs. By more deliberately and strategically combining the different expertise of His Majesty’s Inspectors and OIs on inspection teams, Ofsted will be able to deliver its renewed approach to education inspection with more insightful, context-aware inspections that will better serve children, learners and education providers.
During the Big Listen, Ofsted heard that inspectors do not always have the necessary expertise or experience in the specific types of provision they inspect (for example, primary or special schools, or apprenticeship providers), which makes it harder for them to understand the context the provider is working in. Therefore, from November, most school and further education and skills inspections will have at least one inspector on the team with previous experience of working in a similar type of provision.
These changes build on the many improvements Ofsted has already made to make sure inspections are consistent; for example, Fridays are now used to gather teams of His Majesty’s Inspectors for reflection and training, and senior staff hold regular meetings to review inspection outcomes and provide oversight of the most complex cases.
Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, said:
We want to make sure our inspections are as consistent as possible, from Cornwall to Northumberland. We have already put stronger quality assurance measures in place, and utilising the expertise of our workforce as effectively as we can is another significant step forward.
All inspection teams will have the right blend of inspection expertise and current sector insight. This will help us better understand the context of the schools and colleges we inspect, to provide a fair and accurate report for parents.
Steve Rollett, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), said:
It is welcome that Ofsted are taking the issue of consistency seriously. Having the most experienced inspectors lead inspections should support consistency, which would be a positive step.
We know Ofsted has also committed to making improvements to its proposed toolkits and methodology, and we hope these changes will provide further reassurance on consistency.
Notes to editors
- Because of its unique contexts and requirements, our early years inspection model works differently. In early years, inspections are typically conducted by individual inspectors rather than teams.
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