Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on the provision of education when Ofsted inspections do not occur routinely due to a school going through the process of converting to academy status.

When a maintained school is judged as inadequate, it receives an academy order requiring it to convert into an academy. Ofsted will not normally commence monitoring inspections during the conversion process. The exception to this is where safeguarding is judged ineffective, in which case inspectors may visit prior to the conversion taking effect, in order to ensure that pupils are safe.

In cases where arrangements for planned conversion have not been confirmed six months after the academy order has been issued, the department will discuss the progress of the conversion with Ofsted, and Ofsted will decide whether to schedule a monitoring visit or to review the decision again at a future date.

Once the maintained school has re-opened as an academy, Ofsted will not normally carry out an inspection until its third year of operation. The department believes an incoming sponsor should have sufficient time to turn around a failing school before Ofsted revisits. However, where there are significant concerns Ofsted may still decide to inspect before the school's third year of operation.

In the case of a maintained school voluntarily converting to academy status, the pattern of routine Ofsted inspections is not affected.