Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education. Ofsted inspects

nurseries, schools, colleges, teacher training providers and local education authorities (LEAs).

School inspections are required by law and schools are normally inspected on a six-year cycle.

A school inspection is a process of gathering information in order to provide an assessment of how well a school is performing. This is achieved by analysing data, observing lessons, interviewing teachers, analysing pupils' work, meeting with parents, pupils and governors. Inspections are conducted by a team of inspectors, led by a registered inspector.

For parents a school inspection provides an external and independent view of what is good and not so good about their children's school compared with other schools.

Click here to visit the official Tollbar BEC Ofsted Report March 2004