ASCL comment on new Chief Inspector of Ofsted

Commenting on the selection of Sir Martyn Oliver as the preferred candidate to become the new Chief Inspector of Ofsted, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“We would like to congratulate Sir Martyn Oliver on his appointment, subject to approval, as the new head of Ofsted. Sir Martyn is a highly experienced and effective education leader and we look forward to working with him as Chief Inspector.

“Ofsted is in great need of reform and we welcome Sir Martyn’s commitment to working closely with the whole education sector. In particular, we will be seeking reform of the inspectorate to ensure that inspections are more consistent, supportive and fairer. There is widespread support for the scrapping of blunt single-word judgements and we hope that this will now be a priority. We recognise that this isn’t a change that can be decided by the Chief Inspector – it is a government decision. However, we hope that the government will see sense and make this change, and we would certainly want to work with the next Chief Inspector on a system to replace graded judgements which works in the best interests of schools, parents and children.”