Tories pledge to hand more powers to schools watchdog Labour wants to scrap
1 min read
A Conservative government will hand more powers to the schools watchdog in an attempt to crack down on indiscipline and boost standards, Education Secrerary Gavin Williamson has announced.
Ofsted would also be allowed to carry out inspections without giving headteachers any prior notice.
Outstanding schools would also no longer be exempt from being visited by Ofsted inspectors, Mr Williamson said.
Labour has already announced that it would scrap Oftsed, which it says it no longer "fit for purpose".
But Mr Williamson said: "Ofsted is an independent and trusted source of information for parents and teachers and their inspections help to raise standards in our schools.
"Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour want to scrap Ofsted, meaning parents won’t have reliable information about the performance of their child’s school. Without independent inspections school standards would fall and our children would be less safe.
"A Conservative government will back Ofsted with more funding to carry out better and more focussed inspections so that parents have more reliable information about their child’s school, and school standards are driven up across the country."
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