Will the Leopard Change its Spots?: A new model of inspection for Ofsted

Does Ofsted (the UK Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) do more harm than good? The evidence shows that, despite some benefits, Ofsted’s methods are invalid, unreliable and unjust. Educators are diverted from looking after students to looking after inspectors.

A new model is presented, underpinned by five principles: education as growth; trust rather than fear; challenge matched by support; dialogue; and appreciative inquiry.

There are nine components in the new model that are operationalized so as to dispense with league tables and grades. A single adjective – whether "outstanding" or "inadequate" – cannot sum up all the complexities within a school.

There are welcome signs that Ofsted is willing to act on constructive criticism. Ofsted doesn’t belong to the government but to the citizens of Great Britain, and they have a right to call for change. This is the essence of democracy – the freedom to think differently on behalf of others.

Frank Coffield retired in 2007 after 42 years in education, first as a teacher in a comprehensive and then in a boys' approved school in Scotland. He was also a lecturer in education at Jordanhill College of Education in Glasgow and Keele University in Staffordshire, and Professor of Education at the Universities of Durham, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and the Institute of Education, University of London.