Ofsted inspector
Ofsted inspectors visit, inspect and report on the quality of places of education and learning, and children's social care services.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
You'll be employed directly by Ofsted as an HMI - His Majesty's Inspector, or regulatory inspector. You could also work as an Ofsted inspector (OI) on contract to Ofsted. OIs do not carry out the regulatory work or the full role of an HMI.
As an HMI, you'll take lead inspector and team inspector roles. You'll work in one or more of these areas:
- schools
- further education and skills
- children and families services
- early years and childcare
Ofsted also employs regulatory inspectors across early years and children’s social care services. They check that people, premises and services are suitable to care for children and vulnerable young people.
In all roles, you'll:
- get organised for inspections by reading briefings
- talk to staff about previous development plans and progress made
- find out the views of other professionals, children and parents
- observe and rate teaching or care provision against national standards
- check the welfare and development of the children
- record what you see and hear
- give information and evidence to team meetings
- produce detailed written reports to tight deadlines
- give feedback to the education or children's service provider
Working environment
You could work from home, at a college or at a school.
You may need to wear smart business clothes.
Career path and progression
You’ll be recruited and trained by Ofsted.
With experience as an HMI - His Majesty's Inspector, you could become a senior HMI or regional director. Regulatory inspectors may also become regulatory inspection managers or HMIs.
You could use your knowledge and experience to move into a senior role within your own area of work.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- observation and interviewing skills
- the ability to analyse quality or performance
- the ability to make fair judgements and decisions
- leadership and teamworking skills
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- analytical thinking skills
- active listening skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
You'll also find it useful to have a driving licence.
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- applying directly
You can apply directly to become an inspector if you've got the relevant qualifications, skills and experience.
You'll need:
- a degree in a subject like education, childcare or social work
- qualified teacher status (QTS) to inspect schools
- a track record of improving standards and services
- up-to-date knowledge of the job, including recent developments and statutory requirements
You'll also need at least 5 years' experience of leadership in a relevant job like headteacher or senior manager in children's services to become an HMI - His Majesty's Inspector.
Further information
You can find out more on how to become an inspector from Ofsted.
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This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.