More than 100 schools in Britain have not had an Ofsted inspection for almost a decade. Officials say that routine visits were not made because the schools listed were already graded 'outstanding'. However, critics claim that ten years is just too long for an inspection exemption and have demanded changes.
Ofsted inspections have not been made in over seven years across a further 600 schools in Britain. When inspections were made on the so-called top institutions, they were downgraded because the standards decreased between visits. In 2006, almost 115 schools had a full Ofsted inspection.
"Routine inspections need to be enforced for even the best schools," says Jonathan Simons, the head of education at the Policy Exchange Think Tank.
He also said that it would be too late to inspect formerly top graded schools, after achieving bad results and the inspection is a reassurance that the top schools maintain their standards.
Michael Gove, former Conservative Education Secretary said that it would ease the 'burden' on top graded schools if routine inspections were not made. According to reports, the inspectors visit these schools only when there are safety concerns, poor exam results or parental complaints. Ofsted maintained visits were made once every five years for schools graded 'good' and this would further be reduced to three years with the same standards maintained.
NAHT have started a campaign to enforce this new rule to all schools which would demand amendment to the law.
The inspectorate's annual reports of 2013-14 show a downgrade in the standards of about 35 percent of the secondary schools that were previously graded 'outstanding' or 'good'. Some schools were graded 'requires improvement', while others sunk to 'inadequate'. Reports suggest that the school leaders did not put the teachers in challenging situations which compromised their quality and teaching standards.
The Compton School in North London and the Combs Infant School in Derbyshire are among the two schools last inspected in 2006 and have been waiting for their section five inspection ever since. 'It makes our staff nervous", says Rosemary Cook, the head teacher at Combs Infant School. She also said that it's great to get things going with the job, but also puts a lot of stress on the governors and staff waiting for the Ofsted inspection call.
According to a spokesman of the Department for Education, regular risk assessments have been conducted for all the top graded schools. The top schools will be exempt from routine visits as long as the performance is high.
