Ofsted to toughen up reports

The education standards watchdog has announced it intends to "wage war" on up to 8,000 state primary and secondary schools which have been judged as "satisfactory" in inspections, saying: "We don't think 'satisfactory' is good enough for the pupils involved."

Ofsted will introduce a tougher inspection regime for the schools concerned from September. They will also face the same kind of follow-up visits to inspect any weak points identified in earlier inspections as failing schools.

The move provoked an outcry from teachers' leaders yesterday, who claimed the move was "completely unacceptable" for schools that had effectively passed their inspections.

Ofsted said these schools were "in danger of falling into a category of concern when they are reinspected after three years".