Blow for right over schools inspectors: Local authority influence remains

MOST of the team leaders who have been registered to carry out the Government's 'privat ised' inspection regime work for local education authorities, it was reported yesterday.

That will dismay right-wingers, who had hoped that the new regime would end the influence of local inspectors and advisers. However, Stewart Sutherland, senior chief inspector and head of Ofsted, the new education standards authority, said he was confident that the selection and training of inspectors had been sufficiently rigorous.

'The people that have been registered are competent to do the job,' he said.

Ofsted was set up eight months ago to register and train sufficient inspectors to inspect all 24,000 schools in England and Wales at least once every four years. So far, 370 inspectors - chosen from more than 7,000 applicants - have been registered to lead secondary school inspections, which will start in the autumn. A further 2,000 applicants have been trained and selected as members of inspection teams.

Of the successful candidates so far, 60 per cent are based in local authorities, with the rest from private consultancies. The first primary inspections under the new system will begin next year.

The authority has received 440 tenders for the first group of 394 schools being inspected during the autumn term this year, with a further 500 during the following two school terms. Professor Sutherland said that represented 'a very encouraging response', given that the first group of schools was 'always likely to be the most difficult tender exercise'.

Ofsted Corporate Plan 1993-94 to 1995-96; Ofsted Publication Centre, PO Box 151, London E15 2HN; unpriced.