Ofsted’s national director for social care has resigned.
Debbie Jones, who was in post for 18 months, will leave her role at the end of May.
During her time at the watchdog Jones, a qualified social worker and former president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, worked on the implementation of the controversial single inspection framework.
Under the framework, which has faced criticism from the sector, the majority of local authorities inspected by Ofsted have been rated less than good.
An Ofsted spokesperson said Debbie has decided to seek new challenges after being “instrumental in overseeing the successful introduction of Ofsted’s more rigorous single inspection framework”.
Matthew Coffey, Ofsted’s chief operating officer, said: “I would like to put on record our appreciation for all Debbie’s hard work and significant achievements over the last 18 months, and wish her well for the future.”
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Well, he would say that wouldn’t he!!!?
Matthew Coffey, Ofsted’s chief operating officer, said: “I would like to put on record our appreciation for all Debbie’s hard work and significant achievements over the last 18 months, and wish her well for the future.”
I suppose it depends on what you regard as a successful introduction. Any inspection that ignores the effect of the austerity-driven cuts in local authority budgets, with the accompanying decimation of preventive services like childrens centres and funding for the voluntary sector, isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. How much money could be saved by scrapping Ofsted I wonder?