Single inspectorate for children and learners arrives

01 Apr 2007

The new Ofsted, a new single inspectorate for children and learners, has been created with a mission to raise standards and improve lives.

Its full title is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. Its vision is to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages, through inspection and regulation.

It brings together the wide experience of four inspectorates, including the Adult Learning Inspectorate, work from the Commission for Social Care Inspection and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Court Administration, and the current work of Ofsted.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, Christine Gilbert, said:

“The reach of the new inspectorate is extensive. At least one person in three makes use of the services we shall inspect or regulate. This puts us in a position to make a difference to the lives of many millions of our fellow-citizens, of all ages. This is a privilege, and a great responsibility.”

The new Ofsted will be responsible for the registration and inspection of childcare; the registration and inspection of arrangements for the social care and support of children and young people; and the inspection of all maintained and some independent schools.

It will also be responsible for the inspection of further education; the inspection of all publicly-funded adult education and training and some privately-funded training provision; and the inspection of teacher training.

The inspection of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) will be undertaken by the new Ofsted. Joint Area Reviews and Annual Performance Assessments of local children’s services provision will continue to be led by Ofsted.

The post of the Children’s Rights Director (CRD) will transfer from the Commission for Social Care Inspection to Ofsted.

The breadth of this remit will allow the new Ofsted to take a comprehensive view across care, education and skills and speak with great authority about the quality of services for children, young people and adult learners.

The new Ofsted will ensure that provision is inspected in totality so there is less chance of issues slipping through the boundaries between inspectorates. Complexity and overlap will be reduced, ensuring that inspection does not take front line staff away from their core focus of providing and improving services.

The Education and Inspections Act that establishes the new Ofsted requires the inspectorate to promote improvement in the public services we inspect and regulate; ensure that these services focus on the interests of children, parents, learners and employers; and that these services are efficient and effective.

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