How accurate are school inspections?

Ensuring that their child’s school is performing well is of the upmost importance to all parents. State schools are inspected by a Welsh Assembly body called Estyn whose reports are supposed to highlight any problems. But questions have arisen about how rigourous these inspections really are.

I have been informed by the former head of education in Gwent, who went on to work as a schools inspector, that he and his colleagues were actively discouraged from writing reports which suggested that a school was failing.

Following his complaints about the system, the gentlemen in question found that his services as a schools inspector were no longer required.

Needless to say I am making further investigations into this matter and more information will be published tomorrow in the Western Mail.