Ofsted said the changes, which will be introduced in November, would deliver improved consistency and ‘more insightful, context-aware inspections’.
A school leaders’ union has welcomed Ofsted plans to provide more tailored inspections of schools and in further education, describing it as “long overdue”.
Ofsted announced on Thursday that all inspections would be led by current His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs), or someone with recent experience in the role, to provide more in-depth inspection expertise and training.
At the same time, contracted Ofsted inspectors – who often work in schools and colleges themselves – will be deployed as team inspectors by having their expertise matched to specific types of provision.
The regulator said the changes, which will be introduced in November, would deliver improved consistency and “more insightful, context-aware inspections that will better serve children, learners and education providers”.
It comes after Ofsted held a public consultation on planned reforms to its service, the details of which will be published in September.
Inspectors having a lack of expertise or experience in the specific types of provision they inspect was one issue aired during the consultation.
The new plans will mean at least one inspector on the team will have previous experience of working in that provision for most inspections.
They will not apply to early years inspections, which are usually conducted by individuals rather than teams.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said: “We welcome this sensible, long-overdue move. NAHT has long called for all inspections to be led by experienced HMIs with the right level of experience and we have also highlighted the importance of inspectors having experience of the type of school they inspect.
“It goes without saying that these changes will only be effective if the underlying inspection system is reliable and fit for purpose.”
The NAHT was among the unions who previously suggested it would encourage members to quit as Ofsted inspectors unless changes were made to the proposed reforms, including to the five-point grading scale.
New report cards for this grading system are also due to be rolled out in November.
Mr Whiteman continued: “The profession has been united opposing the inspectorate’s plans to judge schools on even more areas and to now try and spring a revised version of these proposals upon schools with less than a term’s notice – with no guarantee these concerns will be addressed.
“We urge Ofsted to work with us to rethink these ill-conceived plans, which have been roundly rejected by the profession, and will ultimately impact the ability of school leaders and teachers to deliver the education children deserve.”
Ofsted’s chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said: “We want to make sure our inspections are as consistent as possible, from Cornwall to Northumberland.
“We have already put stronger quality assurance measures in place, and utilising the expertise of our workforce as effectively as we can is another significant step forward.
“All inspection teams will have the right blend of inspection expertise and current sector insight. This will help us better understand the context of the schools and colleges we inspect, to provide a fair and accurate report for parents.”
