Sean Harford became National Director, Education in September 2015. Sean was appointed Her Majesty’s Inspector in 2003. Since joining Ofsted he has worked in school improvement, school inspection policy and organisational restructuring. His previous post in Ofsted was Regional Director (South).
Before joining Ofsted, Sean was a teacher and a successful senior leader in a secondary school in the East of England, as well as associate adviser for a local authority.
Follow Sean on Twitter @HarfordSean
Back in June last year, when Ofsted announced the changes to inspection under the common inspection framework, we also explained how we intended to strengthen the way we deal with complaints about inspection. In September, we introduced independent scrutiny to …
...on #OfstedMyths. It is important to note that this proposal would not signal an end to classroom visits by inspectors. These serve a number of purposes and help inspectors develop...
...Therefore, the first short inspection for a good school is likely to fall more than three years after its last inspection. However, statute dictates that this cannot go beyond the...
...since we started this blog, and it’s great to see that the number of people reading our posts is increasing month by month. I’d welcome your thoughts and suggestions in...
...inspections for good schools/providers. At events I attend, and also on Twitter, a few themes keep cropping up, so, I’ve put together 10 points below outlining what these new inspections...
...those views from many different groups in different ways – during inspections, through formal consultation and work with partners, at events and discussion groups, and on social media. Today we...
...all those who have engaged with us in this way. As a result of these suggestions, we have made a number of small changes. These do not change the meaning...
...recently announced initiative for recognising exceptional headteachers, supported to do so by their great staff, might help inspire this kind of support. I will certainly promote the idea with DfE...
Sean Harford, Ofsted’s National Director for Schools corrects some misunderstandings about Ofsted’s requirements. I’ve been delighted with the feedback from many parts of the sector on our ‘mythbusting’ document, which...
Welcome to Ofsted’s new blog focusing on developments in education inspection. We’re launching it at a time where we’re making radical changes to the way we inspect. Firstly, we’re working...