§ 14. Ms. Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress he has to report regarding implementing the new arrangements for school inspection.
§ 20. Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with parent organisations regarding progress in implementing the new arrangements for school inspection.
§ Mr. PattenOFSTED—the Office for Standards in Education—opened on 1 September 1992. Her Majesty's chief inspector, Professor Stewart Sutherland, and his staff are now preparing for the first round of second school inspections to start in September 1993.
I shall soon be consulting with interested bodies, including organisations which represent parents, on a draft circular and regulations which will give effect to the four-year inspection cycle and secure wide distribution of inspection reports.
§ 27. Sir Fergus MontgomeryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the response to his Department's national advertising campaign to attract registered school inspectors.
§ Mr. ForthAs a result of the campaign some 41,000 people asked for the leaflet "Are you interested in becoming a school inspector?" and so far some 25,000 have gone on to request further information and application forms. I understand that OFSTED, the office of Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools in England, has received almost 5,000 applications from prospective registered inspectors and more than 6,000 from prospective inspection team members.