Ofsted chief admits system ‘did not work as well as it should’ after abuse at school

Amanda Spielman defends failure to spot mistreatment at residential facility for disabled children as she is grilled by MPs

Ofsted’s chief inspector has told MPs its inspection system “did not work as well as it should,” as she defended the watchdog’s failure to spot mistreatment of more than 100 youngsters over several years at a large residential school for disabled children.

Amanda Spielman was quizzed by the education select committee over why Ofsted had rated three Doncaster educational facilities run by the Hesley Group as “good” in 2019, despite evidence of a string of complaints and serious incidents going back to 2015.