It is dangerous to simplify complex processes. But it seems to me that inspection fundamentally has two purposes: to ensure public, and publicly funded, services are accountable to government and taxpayers for the quality of what they deliver, and to support the continuous improvement of those services. This is what Ofsted has focused on in the inspection of social care since it took over responsibility for those inspections in 2007; and the changes we are introducing this year are designed to strengthen accountability and improvement still further.
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