I didn’t get burnt at the stake, but as an Ofsted Inspector it was a close thing.

When working on inspection, a small boy really did say: “Are you a witch?” And yes, there was great consternation on the part of his teachers.

The book is set in 1996, which is back in the dark ages as far as Ofsted Inspection go. It was at a time when Chris Woodhead had convinced the government and populace alike that teachers and schools needed to buck up their ideas. Ofsted carried out its dreaded inspections across the length and breadth of the land, but Jane Schaffer’s book asks the question...

Did Ofsted Inspections make a difference?

For nine-year-old Steven, whose chaotic home life and severe dyslexia make him unpopular with his teacher, it does. In the four days of the school’s inspection, Steven’s teacher picks up a handful of the much-feared unsatisfactory grades and so passes the point of professional acceptability. She leaves the school, and Steven and his classmates get a new teacher who is good at her job. Outcomes, however, are not always as happy. Judge for yourself, as you read the complex and enthralling descriptions of each inspection if after the inspectors leave things improve.

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