A former chief inspector has warned the government over the “dangers” of pursuing inspection volume over quality in a report that also warns of “significant budget cuts” facing Ofsted.

Dame Christine Gilbert has today published her independent review of Ofsted, which investigated the inspectorate’s actions following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry after an inspection last year.

The review found that the inspectorate’s efforts to give school inspections a more “human face” were “undermined” by budget cuts and a “pressure to complete the volume of required inspections”.

However, Dame Christine told Tes that, in the current economic climate, Ofsted “cannot expect a substantial increase in funding”, instead advising that “it must use what it already has to meet its obligations to change what are significant issues with how it operates”.

While Ofsted accepted the majority of the report’s recommendations, it said that it does not accept that it has chased inspection volume over inspection quality.

“We regret that we have been forced to de-prioritise vital system improvements in order to prioritise inspections,” Ofsted said in its response to the review today.

“But we have always prioritised - to the detriment of much else - the quality of inspection,” it added.

The report comes after the government announced the scrapping of single-word headline grades, and as the school inspectorate publishes the findings of its Big Listen response today, which sought views from the sector on inspection reform.

Dame Christine spoke to more than 100 Ofsted staff while conducting the review from May to August this year, as well as teaching union representatives and Ms Perry’s family.

The appointment of Dame Christine, who led Ofsted as chief inspector from 2006 to 2011, to head the review was criticised by some over whether she would be an independent voice.

We break down seven findings from her report below.

• Ofsted’s Big Listen response: all you need to know
• Sir Martyn Oliver: ‘We accept the criticism’
• DfE scraps Ofsted single-word school inspection grades

1. Funding is challenging

Ofsted has previously said that calls for “deeper and richer” inspections could cost an extra £8.5 million a year, adding that the inspectorate’s funding is “29 per cent lower in real terms compared with 2009-10”.

According to its latest annual report and accounts, Ofsted’s total resource budget is £157,505 for the 2024-25 financial year - this is almost £7,000 higher than 2023-24 (£150,775).

Ofsted was given an extra £23 million of government funding after the Department for Education asked it to inspect all schools by August 2025.

Dame Christine said that it is “important to recognise the context was already challenging” for Ofsted owing to the budget cuts it faced.

“It is hard to see how it can manage this and still complete the volume of inspections required by the government,” Dame Christine warned, adding that the school watchdog is already “working to address a large projected budget shortfall”.

She believes that it is “unlikely” considering the current pressure on public finances that additional funding for inspection could be prioritised, and “the emphasis has to be about what can be done well with limited resources”.

The new government promised to spend £45 million to reform Ofsted, raised from increased VAT on private schools.

Dame Christine told Tes: “Ofsted has heard some hard messages and has pledged significant reform.

“The proof of its determination to reform will be in its actions, and Ofsted must be open and transparent this coming year about its progress in making the radical changes necessary if it’s to become a stronger force for good.”

2. Ofsted ‘chasing volume’ of inspections over quality

Concerns were raised in the report over the pressure on inspectors to meet Ofsted’s target to inspect all schools by August 2025.

Dame Christine repeatedly heard the phrase “volume trumps quality” from inspectors, and also highlighted poor hotel conditions and 14-hour working days.

She told Ofsted that it should advise the DfE on the “dangers of chasing volume at the expense of inspector quality”.

Her recommendation is not the first time concerns have been voiced over the impact of the inspection goal on staff wellbeing.

Tes revealed earlier this year that the FDA, a union representing Ofsted inspectors and HMIs, warned that inspectors are feeling “pressured” by Ofsted’s target to inspect all schools by next summer.

While many HMIs were positive about the new changes to Section 8 ungraded inspections, some also said that taking on so many changes to inspection at once - including changes to both the deferral and pause policies - has been “challenging”.

Senior inspectors also raised concerns over a “greater reliance on published data”, which were “not enshrined in written data”. This led to HMIs “second-guessing” what is expected from them in inspections, the report said.

3. ‘Defensive’ response to Ruth Perry’s death

Dame Christine said that Ofsted’s initial response to Ruth Perry’s death appeared “defensive and complacent”.

One Ofsted board member described the inspectorate’s approach as “appearing to start from the premise that Ofsted had done nothing wrong and just needed to provide the evidence to demonstrate that”.

The review also added that most Ofsted board members only heard of Ms Perry’s death and its connection to the Ofsted inspection from the media.

The report explains that the immediate response was to carry out a full review of the evidence base of the inspection of Caversham Primary School - the “normal procedure when for an inspection that was contested or problematic in some way”.

However, Dame Christine said that the issue was primarily dealt with at regional director level, and suggested that it would have been “helpful” for a more national figure at Ofsted to lead the response.

The review further advised that the inspectorate’s national directors should be viewed as a “leading and authoritative role as the guardian of inspection standards and practice in any future authoritative or critical incident”.

Outstanding actions and any other improvement and development initiatives should be integrated into a “single, overarching improvement and development plan” within the watchdog, the report said.

And for “transparency”, the plan and regular monitoring reports should be published on Ofsted’s website.

4. More training needed for inspectors

The review found there had been a reluctance to “address conduct issues when they were raised, with people ‘getting away with being unpleasant’”.

Dame Christine urged that it was “vital” that “appropriate behaviours” are reinforced through recruitment, induction and line management, and that inspectors “must be aware that there are consequences to failing to meet the new standards”.

The review also found that, although staff opinions of the mandatory mental health training - which the inspector workforce completed from January to March this year - were mostly positive, there was still “some cynicism”, with some HMIs questioning whether the training “added” to their existing experience and knowledge.

Ofsted said today that the mental health training has now been integrated into the training for all new inspectors, and it has promised to set up a long-term development programme that helps inspectors support school leaders’ wellbeing.

Education Support, a charity for teacher wellbeing, made a series of recommendations on what further training could look like, including “how to carry out difficult conversations with care”.

Dame Christine recommended that the rollout includes “regularly refreshed” training, that is “specifically designed to reflect the unique power dynamic of inspection” with “specific models and tools to support inspectors to build appropriate relationships during inspection”.

5. Top Ofsted inspectors receive ‘no feedback’

The learning following Ms Perry’s death was “determined” and to an extent “constrained” by Ofsted’s organisational structure and culture, Dame Christine said in the review.

Most HMIs spoken to as part of her review reported receiving no feedback on their performance on inspections since passing their probationary year, while some said that their managers “did not have time for meetings”.

To make Ofsted’s culture more inclusive, Dame Christine said that staff engagement needs to be “built into” the routine way Ofsted works.

Dame Christine has suggested an “emphasis on transparency and Ofsted’s own accountability” to be added to Ofsted’s set of values, which were introduced upon new Ofsted chief Sir Martyn Oliver’s tenure.

She also recommended a greater emphasis on “managing and supporting the performance of inspectors” to ensure clarity over what is expected of them.

6. Governing board should be ‘revised’ and ‘better used’

Dame Christine found the role of Ofsted’s governing board “curiously limited”, highlighting that the chief inspector (or HCMI) was not “wholly accountable” to the board and that it has no control over the watchdog’s budget.

She further warned that the “degree of autonomy and entitlement for HMCI does not make for effective governance”, and found that each Ofsted chief can decide how they want to determine the scope of the board’s decision-making.

“The common focus for each HMCI should be on demonstrating a sense of responsibility, a willingness to be accountable and an attitude for service”, she said in the report.

The report said the diversity of perspectives within the board could be “better used”, and the current model reviewed so it can be more than just “advisory”.

Ofsted has been told to revise the current framework, with the aim of “providing both support and constructive challenge to Ofsted in its learning and reform”.

7. Accountability system at ‘crisis point’

Dame Christine said that there is a “danger” that the focus on reform of the inspection system “diverts attention” from the broader public accountability system, which she warned has reached a “crisis point”.

She said the focus on results, league tables and inspection has led to an “important, albeit narrow, view of schools’ purposes”.

The review recommended that a reformed accountability system should contribute to leaders’, teachers’ and schools’ professionalism and be “more supportive of their work”.

Dame Christine said the government should initiate a wider debate on the public accountability system in its plans for a school report card.

The Labour government has promised to replace single-word Ofsted judgements with a report-card system.

Concluding her review, Dame Christine said it must ensure that school evaluation is a “dynamic and inclusive process”, with a focus on “building professionalism and better practice”.

The DfE was also contacted for comment.