OFSTED Revisited: Re-living the Experience of an Initial Teacher Training PE Inspection

The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) inspects the quality of all Initial Teacher Training (ITT) provision in England on behalf of the Teacher Training Agency. This paper represents a sequel to an earlier paper which was published by colleagues following the first OFSTED inspection of secondary Physical Education Initial Teacher Training (ITT) at Loughborough University in 1996/97. Fired by dismay and frustration for the practices OFSTED demonstrated, Hardy and Evans (2000: 58) commented `we write... in fear that recent legislation will ensure that, in the future, we may receive more of the same'. This paper considers the extent to which `more of the same' was received during a second inspection in 1999/2000. It presents a commentary on staff experiences and reflections of the process and highlights the key issues encountered. The authors conclude that while `more of the same' was not experienced in terms of `outcomes' in 1999/2000, it was with respect to `process'. Given the many limitations of ITT inspection, they suggest that the credibility of the process remains questionable.