The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament.

Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training and childcare services in England do so to a high standard for children and students.

Previously this was done by 150 local authorities, based on their implementation by 1992 of the Day care Standards provisions of the 1989 Children Act.

Since 2006 the structure of Ofsted has derived elements from business models, with a chair, an executive board, regional officers, and a formal annual report to Parliament in the light of concerns about schools, and local authority children's services.

[11] The services Ofsted inspects or regulates include local services, childminding, child day care, children's centres, children's social care, CAFCASS, state schools, private schools and teacher training providers, colleges, and learning and skills providers in England.

Ofsted distributes its functions amongst its offices in London, Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cambridge, York, Darlington and Bristol.

[13] The current Chief Inspector is Sir Martyn Oliver, who was appointed in January 2024 replacing Amanda Spielman.

Inspection reports provides important information to parents, carers, learners and employers about the quality of education, training and care.

Under this system the senior leadership of each school were strongly encouraged to complete a Self Evaluation Form (SEF) on a continual basis, which required them to be aware of strengths and areas for development.

Section 8 of the Education Act 2005 (as amended) gives the Secretary of State the legal authority to request His Majesty's Chief Inspector (HMCI) to enter a school for the purpose of obtaining information.

A school is placed into special measures if it is judged as 'inadequate' (Grade 4) in one or more areas and if the inspectors have decided it does not have the capacity to improve without additional help.

Furthermore, the senior managers and teaching staff can be dismissed and the governing body may be replaced by an appointed Interim Executive Board (IEB).

There are two types of JTAI: Ofsted was criticised as 'not fit for purpose' in 2007 by the House of Commons Education Select Committee.

[38] The committee also highlighted their concern about "the complex set of objectives and sectors that Ofsted now spans and its capacity to fulfil its core mission".

Other criticism came from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) which said "Ofsted is over-reliant on number crunching, using test data which are fundamentally unsound" and added that the organisation was "ripe for overhaul".

[38] Over a period of several years the Select Committee had questioned the Chief Inspector over its treatment of Summerhill School and what it had learnt from the 1999 Court Case and subsequent inspections.

[47] Wilshaw also dismissed speculation that Ofsted itself was responsible for teachers' heavy workload (in excess of 60 hours per week) describing it as 'a red herring'.

[48] However, a 2015 poll by the NUT found that 53% of teachers were planning to leave teaching by 2017, with the extra workload from Ofsted's 'accountability agenda' a key factor in seeking a job with a better work/life balance.

[50] In 2015, an inspector revealed that inspection judgements can be arbitrarily over-ruled by senior figures, commenting on a case where a school had been downgraded: We couldn't understand this rationale at all.

"[50] In response, Wilshaw attacked Barton for being "too quick to perpetuate a 'them against us' view of the schools inspectorate... we fall back on a 'clichéd defence-mechanism' of whingeing about inconsistency", and insisted that Ofsted was becoming "more rigorous and demanding".

[19] However, Barton argued the letter lost some of its force and all of its credibility for being published on the day 40% of inspectors were sacked for not being up to the job.

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said "Ofsted and the government are the source of much of the stress and anxiety on staff through an extremely high-pressure accountability system.

[53] As a reaction to the news of Perry's death, heads at some schools have worn black armbands during inspections or removed references to Ofsted from their websites.

[58] Ms Connor said a prevention of future death notice will be issued and she "very much hopes" the results of the inquest will be used by the Education Select Committee's inquiry into Ofsted and how it works.

Hope and Glory, a BBC television drama featuring actor/comedian Lenny Henry, gave an insight into a fictional portrayal of teachers dealing with a school in Special Measures.

His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills (sometimes abbreviated to HMCI) is the head of Ofsted.

Martyn Oliver was appointed His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills from 2 January 2024.

The title of His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools (HMCI) was created at the same time as The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) itself.