Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has told MPs that the government will consider accelerating the timetable of Ofsted inspections.

He confirmed that the department would look at this when asked at the Commons Education Committee today about how inspections would return after being put on hold during the Covid crisis.

Conservative MP David Johnston highlighted that some schools still had an old Ofsted judgement and wanted to be able to demonstrate their improvement, while some “outstanding” schools had gone without inspection for 14 years.

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He said that Ofsted’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, had said that the inspectorate could accelerate their inspections if directed to do so by the government and he asked Mr Williamson if this was being considered?

Mr Williamson replied: “We would certainly be looking at a whole range of different options, including accelerated inspection.

“You are right to highlight the ‘outstanding’ schools who are in a situation where they haven’t been inspected for 10 years or more.

“You are also right to highlight the schools who want to progress out of ‘requires improvement’ to the ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ areas.”

Ofsted’s full inspections of schools are set to return in September after being put on hold in March last year as the Covid crisis unfolded.

Tes revealed last month that the statutory window in which schools have to be reinspected could be extended from five years to seven years when full inspection resumes.