Ofsted 'angered' by Gavin Williamson's claim it will act as enforcer during school lockdown

Ofsted was blindsided by Gavin Williamson’s request for parents to report schools to the inspectorate if they failed to provide adequate online learning during lockdown, it has been claimed.

The Daily Telegraph has been told that Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, has privately expressed frustration at the Education Secretary’s claim that Ofsted would act as an enforcer to ensure pupils are receiving between three and five hours of teaching a day.

One insider claimed that the watchdog was “furious” with the language used by Mr Williamson in an update to MPs on Wednesday, in which he stated that mandatory requirements to ensure high quality remote education would be “enforced by Ofsted.”

The comments have also provoked a backlash from teaching unions, who have accused ministers of threatening to sanction schools which are trying to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances.

It is understood that several unions have asked Ofsted to clarify how it will assess the quality of remote education, with figures at the inspectorate privately acknowledging that there is no independent framework for doing so.

Instead, Ofsted will continue with its plans to resume monitoring inspections of schools this month, which will include assessing remote education, although it will not be treated as a “standalone” issue.

“Ofsted are furious about it,” a source said. “The Chief Inspector is particularly cross about that wording.

“It does step into a different territory when Ofsted are the enforcers of Government policy.

“There has always been a sense that parents will contact Ofsted directly and Ofsted has always taken a fairly moderate view on that, thinking ‘let's check this out with the local authority and school first before we jump to conclusions.’ They have been very good around that.

“But for this to be publicly announced in Parliament without them being properly consulted raises big questions.”

However, a source close to Mr Williamson pushed back against the criticism and disputed the suggestion Ofsted had not been consulted.

They added: “It’s expected that Ofsted will work in a supportive role but the purpose is to have a framework around remote education that supports parents.”

Approached for comment, an Ofsted spokesman said: “There are clear requirements about remote learning and our monitoring inspections this term will focus on how well these are being met, to provide reassurance to parents.

“In addition we will consider any complaints we may receive from parents about remote learning at their children’s schools.”