Ofsted Chief Inspector's first speech on post-16 education

Today (17 March), the HM Chief Inspector of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, spoke at our Ofsted Conference. This was her first major speech on post-16 education. David Hughes, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, said: "I was very pleased that the new HMCI Amanda Spielman chose our conference to make her first major speech on post-16 education. It was also pleasing that she has recognised the important role of colleges and proposed a "positive and purposeful conversation" with the sector. It is clear she is committed to Ofsted inspecting colleges based on evidence and wants to ensure that Ofsted truly is an agent for quality improvement, not just of quality measurement. "We have been working hard to highlight the difficulties in making the current English and maths GCSE resit policy work effectively. It is a challenge for every college and we believe has enormous consequences for college inspection outcomes. It is therefore very welcome news to hear Amanda supporting the call for the Government to reconsider its approach to this policy as well as acknowledging the need for inspectors to recognise the scale of the English and maths challenge which colleges face. "I look forward to working closely with Amanda and her team to further develop this new relationship for the benefit of colleges and students."