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Ofsted pays inspectors bonuses for ‘challenging’ inspections

Ofsted inspectors are paid bonuses, the inspectorate has confirmed – but stressed these are not reliant on particular inspection judgements.

The watchdog says they could be paid for “leading exceptionally challenging and pressured inspections” and other exceptional performance.

Concerns over the extra payments for inspectors erupted after the inspectorate published its gender pay gap report – which revealed that men working for Ofsted are more likely to get bonuses than women and that men’s bonuses are 21% higher on average.

But the existence of any bonuses at all shocked some teachers, who were concerned about the appropriateness of such rewards in a system that can result in punitive measures against schools and school staff.

The news this week caused strong debates on social media, including responses from North East Heads:

Twitter image

Read the full article in the Tes.

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