Education journalist Warwick Mansell examines evidence that Ofsted has misused education research

What has Ofsted been trying to achieve with its ‘research reviews’, which have been taking place into a range of national curriculum subjects over the past 18 months?

To judge from the reaction from much of the profession to at least three of them, it is almost as if they were set up to alienate thoughtful teachers from across England, further damaging the inspectorate’s standing with the workforce.

I’ve been having a look this week at Ofsted’s use of some of the evidence it cites in its recently-published review of research in English, before pulling back and also noting responses to its documents on maths, and modern languages.

Read Warwick’s analysis in the NEU Blog

Fewer than one in ten teachers think Ofsted has raised standards at their school, polling for The Times has found.

The vast majority said they would rate the regulator as “inadequate” or “requires improvement” and that they had no confidence in the current inspection system.

Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector, said recently that schools overwhelmingly found Ofsted inspections to be fair and constructive, and dismissed suggestions that the pressure of scrutiny was driving headteachers from the profession.

Read more in The Times

On Wednesday 8 June, Julian Sturdy MP is leading a Westminster Hall debate entitled “Accountability of Ofsted”.

To inform his debate, he wants to hear about your experiences of Ofsted inspections

The deadline for submissions is midday, Tuesday 7 June.